


ALL'S FAIR

by QuilWhitefang



Category: Original Work
Genre: Abusive Parents, Abusive Relationships, Action & Romance, Alternate Universe - Mental Institution, Alternate Universe - Military, Blood and Violence, Death, Drunken Flirting, Explicit Language, Falling In Love, Flirting, Healing, Human Experimentation, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Implied/Referenced Torture, LGBTQ Character, Love at First Sight, M/M, Medical Experimentation, Mental Health Issues, Personal Growth, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rating: M, Romance, Secret Relationship, World War III
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:15:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 100,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26004796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuilWhitefang/pseuds/QuilWhitefang
Summary: The world plunged into war for multiple decades, leaving the military open to corruption and it's high ranking officials power hungry. Each apposing side fighting for a lost vision but longing for a future where peace is no longer a whispered story but a reality. Cyrus Kaimyo stuck in it all fighting for what he feels is right and struggling with the "gifts" he was born with. A Russian genetically modified elite sniper, rebelling out of his father's shadow and find a life worth living. Though it's never as easy as it seems. Unexpectedly his path crosses with Kasen Blackwood, a U.S.A Special Forces Captain, with all to much in common with Cyrus. His own "gifts." chaining him down to the safe and planed out path he never thought to stray from. Kasen's world is tipped upside down when he questions the rigidness of his military upbringing and the desire to finally allow himself to feel love. But it just had to be his enemy. With right and wrong blurred the two of them must work to forge a new future out of the chaos surrounding them.
Relationships: C.K&K.B, Cyrus Kaimyo & Kasen Blackwood, Cyrus Kaimyo&Kasen Blackwood, Cyrus&Kasen
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter One

Kasen shuffled his way down the dusty torn up streets of the base he had been calling home for the last couple years. A shell of a town crumbling away around them had been made into a makeshift military base, a few hours away the war raged on in chaos. Always pushing and retreating and so much death, but this was all Kasen had ever known. Ever since birth he was in this for life. He was always training till his muscles couldn’t hold him up and blood dripping from his bruised knuckles, but he always felt that it wasn't enough. Kasen rubbed at his sore arms as he let out a deep sigh. He had pushed himself as hard as he could in his training for the day. The base was alive with evening activities, people rushing about to medical buildings or getting ready for constant rotation to the front lines, any day now they were close to gaining more land and a better area of advantage in the terrain. Kasen tried his best to avoid his gaze from anyone walking close to him, finding it a bit annoying when everyone paused to salute him. Kasen preferred to pass by in the shadows unnoticed.  
"Kasen!" A light and gentle voice called out to him and jogging towards him was Freya, one of his team members. Her flame red hair slipping from her messy bun as she jogged, coiling down to frame her face. The vibrant red of her hair stood out against their team’s solid black uniforms. With a warm smile Freya stood before Kasen hugging a stack of thick folders to her chest. "The Director sent me to give you these reports, can I walk back with you to your room?" Freya beamed looking up at Kasen with big blue eyes. Kasen's shoulders relaxed slightly as he shrugged.  
"Yeah that's fine." He said calmly, his voice smooth and cold, a slight smile on his lips. Freya fell into step at his side as Kasen led the way down the main street towards his building. Freya filled him in on her day enthusiastically with a few giggles now and then but Kasen's thoughts where elsewhere as a man walking up ahead caught his eye. The man stood around 5'7" and dressed in full black military clothes. As Kasen's eyes narrowed more to study him, he had long black hair pulled into a bun with the front sections of hair in front of his ears hanging down and bangs swept across his forehead. He walked with purpose though and wasn't stopping to look around, heading towards the medical building. Kasen jolted back to Freya as she tugged at his sleeve a few times.  
"Kasen? Are you listening?" Freya questioned blinking up at him as her head tilted. "What's the matter?" She whispered, concerned by Kasen's confused and suspicious look on his face.  
"Do you recognize that man? The one in all black? I didn’t hear that we got a new team member." Kasen carefully replied, pointing towards the medical building searching for the man he just saw in the crowd. Kasen’s eyebrows drew together confused when he could no longer spot the man. Freya looked around the direction Kasen was pointing to looking back to him with one raised eyebrow.  
"Who exactly are you pointing to? I don't see anyone that's in all black." Freya said frowning slightly, watching Kasen pause as he searched through the crowd, his pale green eyes slowly trailing over the faces of all the people going by. Kasen clicked his tongue as he shook his head slightly, running his fingers up through his hair slowly as he began to walk again.  
"I suppose it's nothing. Probably just someone off the front lines." He sighed out but couldn't shake the unsettling feeling growing inside. Freya took Kasen’s arm quickly dragging him the rest of the way to his building pushing open the door to the building bounding up the stairs two at a time.  
"You're tired, maybe you're just seeing things." She teased winking at Kasen. "Was this mysterious man at least cute?" Freya grinned at Kasen who shot her a tired look.  
"I didn't get a very good look at his face, and why does attractiveness matter?" Kasen asked, rolling his eyes as he stood at his door fishing out his keys from his pocket as he swiftly unlocked it and held the door open for Freya. She quickly entered his room making a straight line for his desk, stacking all his papers back together to make room for the new files and gathered his coffee mugs he had neglected from the previous day walking over to the tiny kitchen as Kasen closed the door pulling off his jacket tossing it to the bed.  
"Other than your desk being messy, and clothes piled up in your hamper. Looks like you barely live here." Freya sighed, rinsing out the mugs and placing them on a drying rack as she searched for where Kasen had hidden his bottle of Rum. "You got to let the Director give you a vacation or something." She chuckled as she scaled the countertop and found the bottle pushed to the back of the top shelf and jumped off grabbing a glass and pouring a shot or two into it.  
"We both know vacation or days off don't exist." Kasen said, shaking his head slightly and kept an eye on her as he ran his finger through his messy black hair, sweeping it back into place out of his eyes. Freya bounded over to him handing him the glass. "Well try to relax okay?" She said gently, giving Kasen a worried look as she patted his shoulder. Freya pulled her hand away, her nose wrinkled slightly. "And please change out of this sweaty shirt." She sighed, whipping her hand dramatically on her pant leg as she smirked at Kasen.  
"Okay, okay Freya." Kasen said with a slight chuckle smiling a bit watching her act like it was gross but he knew her all too well and when on the battlefield it didn't matter how sweaty or gross everyone was she would throw her arms around everyone in hugs after a successful mission. He shot down the rum in one big swallow sitting the glass aside. "Have a nice night. Don't forget we are running the obstacle course in the morning." He said calmly, giving her a slight wave.  
"Yes Sir." Freya said warmly, giving him a few head bobs of understanding. "See you in the morning." She chirped before leaving.  
Kasen slowly got to his feet peeling off his sweaty shirt pausing as he caught his reflection in the mirror and slowly approached. Almost every line to his muscles stood out against the many scars covering his body. He could barely remember the time when he wasn't so muscular and aching from a workout. Being 6'3" though he was thankful he wasn't bulky and kept all his speed and agility. His face though was what made him pause the longest. An explosion from long ago left scars trailing down the side of his left face and one across the side of his lips. He had almost lost his eye but after the stitches and swelling went down it was unbelievable that no damage had happened. He stared into his light green eyes for some time and up to his swept back hair, a strand had fallen loose and brushed half way down his nose. The rest of his hair on the sides and back were tightly shaved.  
"One of these days I'll be able to fully recognize myself." He sighed deeply, casting one last glance at his reflection before sinking down into his desk chair opening up the first file from the stack Freya had left on his desk. Kasen sighed as he rested his chin on his hand as he began to read it over with a tired sigh.  
On the roof of the medical building Cyrus laid down shifting his sniper into position. He tucked his long strands of black hair that framed his face back behind his ears as he drew a slow and steady breath. Down below despite the sun dipping below the horizon the base was fully alive. Cyrus pressed his lips together in a frown as he hesitated for a few moments feeling the slow pulse of his heart as he held his breath. He knew the consequences if he didn't go through with the orders and yet he found himself freezing for a bit before his eyes refocused through the scope and pulled the trigger. The suppressor on his sniper muffled the shot just enough that he was able to quickly adjust, firing off rapid shots before the first body could hit the ground. By the time the chaos on the base broke out, people looked around frantically in shock and horror at the body's dropping to the ground around them. Someone triggered one of the many claymores Cyrus had set up. Where a claymore was placed farther down the way more explosives had been set up. Now all hell broke loose as Cyrus focused on taking down as many people as he possibly could falling in and out of rhythm to make sure he was unpredictable and keep careful watch to take down anyone who started to get a grasp on where he was shooting from. Each shot met the target in vital areas to kill. Within minutes bodies filled the streets and explosions shook the ground slightly as they continued to go off taking down groups of people trying to escape. 

Kasen jolted, spilling the stack of folders onto the floor as he staggered to his feet as he heard the explosion go off.  
“What the hell was that?” Kasen gasped as he ran to his side table and yanked open the drawer, scooping up his handgun and ammunition as he ran down the stairs and out into the chaos of the street. He ducked into a side alley way as he took a moment to assess the situation. Kasen's eyes slowly looked out over all the dead bodies laying in the street and his breath caught as he watched a person across the way run out of their hiding spot shooting towards a building down the road and it took Kasen a moment to picture the lay out of the base and that at the street corner was the medical building. Within moments a bullet impacted through the man's head, blood spilling out the back of his head as his body swayed. Kasen tensed as time seemed to slow watching the man join the piles of bodies and he peaked slightly shooting a few rounds towards the roof knowing he was out of range to do much good and his eyes closed for a moment as explosions shook the ground softly under his feet. He knew he was wasting time as he drew slow deep breaths. Kasen's eyes slowly opened as the sound of screaming and explosions was fading away and he took a coin throwing it through the air towards the building and paused as a bullet collided with it. Kasen gritted his teeth as his head tilted slightly.  
"Fuck it." He breathed as he bolted out from around the corner staggering rapidly side to side and dropping to a crouch slightly now and then as he made his way towards the building trying not to trip on any bodies or slip on the pooling blood. A bullet just barely zipped past his head making his heart skip a beat. Never before had he seen this sort of attack in all the years he had been fighting in the war. When another shot didn't come Kasen began to run faster dashing inside the medical building running to the nearest stairs as he took them two at a time desperately trying to reach the roof. Moments before he got to the door Kasen pulled himself back letting himself fall down the stairs as a claymore at the top of the stairs went off. Kasen pulled himself to his feet drawing shaky breaths as he started back up the stairs and carefully kicked the door open, checking for any more explosives before rushing through the doorway. Once on the rooftop he looked around frantically for the attacker, kicking shells out of the way as he walked towards the back of the roof looking down at a rope tied to a railing that stretched down the back of the building.  
"Of course." Kasen muttered under his breath as he weighed his options quickly in how long it would take to run through the medical building again or risk going down the rope and into another explosive or gun fire. Kasen dropped down taking the rope and wrapping his leg around it as he quickly slid down it and once on the ground began to run down the alley that led to one of the exits of the base. He caught sight of a shadow running up ahead and gritted his teeth as he put everything he had into running faster. As the form began to take better shape Kasen's eyes widened as he recognized the size and hair of the man he had spotted earlier the only difference was a sniper slung across his back. Kasen took aim as he shot till he heard it click empty and shoved it into its holder pulling his knife from his belt and threw it as hard as he could at the man. Kasen watched him stagger his steps when he began to shoot, but stumbled slightly as the knife dug hilt deep into Cyrus's side. "Surrender now and I won't kill you on the spot!" Kasen yelled at the man his lungs burning as they strained to yell through his heavy breathing as he continued to run to catch the man. As the gate began to come into view Cyrus pulled a pistol shooting two men who were approaching the gate.  
"I take it you don't need this knife back?" Cyrus called over his shoulder to Kasen as he shot a few rounds in his direction. Kasen gritted his teeth, pissed that the sniper managed to still keep a faster pace than him and he could feel his muscles straining to keep the same momentum.  
"Fuck-" Kasen breathed as he saw a black car waiting a few yards out and he felt his next step stagger as he tripped forward looking up to see the Sniper throw himself into the car and the vehicle drive away as fast as possible the head lights clicking on once farther out. Kasen slammed his fists into the ground, taking shaking breaths his lungs felt raw and his muscles like they were on fire. Kasen slowly pulled himself up to his feet as he numbly stumbled his way back to the main street looking down at the bodies and his heart dropped as red hair stood out. He forced his way over pulling the dead bodies off to get a better look. Freya laid there a shot going through just under her collarbone. Kasen's hands shook as he searched for a pulse, and slowly his shoulder sagged as he felt her faint pulse. His eyes closed as he drew a slow breath as he gently brushed her hair out of her face before lifting her up into his arms.  
"Let's go get you patched up." Kasen breathed softly. "I'm going to find the sniper... and I'm going to make them pay." Kasen whispered, his voice shaking with rage.

Cyrus slowly shifted in the seat of the car as he closed his eyes biting at his lip hard as he pulled the knife out and pressed gauze into the wound closing his eyes as he waited for the pain to dull.  
"You want to talk about it Cyrus?" A tired deep voice asked and Cyrus opened one eye looking to the man driving the car. The man's hair slicked back, just a few strands of grey hair stood out for being 48 years old. He had an eyepatch over his left eye, and a black suit on. Cyrus knew that he could see just as well with his one eye but letting him drive still made him a bit worried.  
"Not really Vyron." Cyrus said softly before leaning forward a bit as he undid his vest and pulled up the back of his shirt wrapping bandaging around his chest to hold the gauze in place till he could be properly patched up. Cyrus pulled his legs up onto the seat to rest his chin on his knees. "It went pretty much as expected..." He said softly his brows drawing together. "I hate this so much." Cyrus breathed, his eye closed tightly as he nestled his face into his knees and Vyron reached over gently rubbing Cyrus back.  
"You're still alive, that's what's important to me." Vyron said softly. "Rest, it's going to take us a few hours till we reach the plane back to Russia." Vyron said giving Cyrus one last pat on his back before returning his hand back to the steering wheel. 

Cyrus woke to Vyron gently shaking his shoulder and sleepily raised his head squinting in the lights of a small plane on a runway a few yards away. "We're here. Are you doing okay?" Vyron asked checking the wound on Cyrus back to see if it had soaking through the bandage yet.  
"I'm fine." Cyrus said slowly, stretching his legs as he flinched slightly as he straightened his back. "I'd much rather stay here then go back home." Cyrus chuckled ever so slightly as he grabbed his sniper and put the knife that had been thrown into his side between his leg and his boot before getting out of the car and on the plane, closely followed by Vyron.  
"When we get home, if things are hard give me a call. Don't deal with everything alone okay?" Vyron said seriously, making Cyrus meet his gaze.  
"Okay, please stop being so parent mode." Cyrus said laying down across a row of seats after the plane took off and gave Vyron a tired smile, trying to reassure him that everything was okay. Ever since Cyrus could remember Vyron had been there to patch him up, comfort him and be the father he always wanted. Kezno had always made it hard for Vyron to fully take care of him but even in Cyrus's darkest of moments Vyron had been there to help pull him through. Cyrus lightly ran his finger along thin scars on the side of his arms as he thought before pressing his arms to his torso so he won't draw attention and force himself to think of something better. 'Today he had got a free knife.' Cyrus slowly pulled it out of his boot looking it over. It was actually a really nice tactile knife and paused when he saw there were initials carved into it. "Oh." He breathed slightly in thought. "K.B. I guess he probably did want this back then." Cyrus whispered liking that it was all black. "Guess I'll have to hold onto it in case I ever run into that guy." He sighed softly as he pressed his thumb to it, checking its sharpness as a habit.  
"Is that what you pulled out of your back?" Vyron asked, pausing in the book he had been reading and looked over the top of it to Cyrus.  
"Yeah. He had a good throw." Cyrus said thoughtfully before putting it back in his boot. "Looks expensive too." He said biting at his lip in thought before he shrugged. "Didn't get a good look at his face, and probably doesn't want to get a mystery package so I'll just keep it." Cyrus said moving to his side trying to get comfortable. Vyron was giving Cyrus one of his unsure stares for a moment before going back to the book.  
"As long as you don't start keeping trophies I don't care." He said calmly and Cyrus snorted slightly knowing Vyron was making a jab at Kenzo's office, a cabinet full of different trophies from his favorite fights or enemies he had killed. Kenzo had gained control of the base slowly over time. Cyrus had begun to be aware of suspicious deaths or members or the council's views on a matter suddenly shifting to support Kenzo. Being his son Cyrus took the most pressure from the man, everything he did had to be perfectly executed. If he wasn't silent and obedient he was punished. Cyrus was 24 and he finally began to put his foot down arguing against Kenzo but that got him assigned to this mission with no way out, his father knew how to threaten him and what he held closest to his heart. Cyrus looked down towards the floor as his brows drew together. "Kill me if I ever start to act like that man." Cyrus breathed and he could see Vyron's body tense.  
"You will never be like him, because you are nothing like him no matter what he makes you do." Vyron said evenly as he kept his eyes on the page he was reading. Cyrus pulled out his phone plugging in his earbuds wanting to escape for the rest of the flight. He clicked on his personal playlist and on shuffle like always slowly relaxing as he zoned out to the music. 

Kasen left the medical bay and assisted the survivors with moving all the dead to one side of the base and collecting the one tag off the fallen so they could see how many they had lost. By the time the sun had come up everyone was exhausted. Very few wounded survived and nearly 80% of the base had been lost. Never before had such a devastating attack happened. Before Kasen could get any rest a meeting was called. Kasen made his way to the bar, he found it fitting that all the important people and directors were to meet there, probably have a few drinks while they talked. Kasen sank into a booth across from his Director; Director Ravencroft, who had heard by now that Kasen had been seen trying to chase down the attacker. A silence fell over the bar as all eyes fell on him.  
"How many attacked us?" Director Ravencroft asked. He was an older man, his hair peppered with grey and dressed in a full formal black military suit.  
"Just one." Kasen said carefully leaning back against the booth and the bartender slowly moved around passing out drinks to everyone. Kasen shot back the rum as he could feel his Director's eyes still on him.  
"Only one sniper did all that?" He questioned Kasen who nodded ever so slightly.  
"One guy, he must have been on the base for a few hours setting up and went completely unnoticed." Kasen grimaced thinking back to when he had spotted him. "I'm going to track him down." Kasen said seriously, folding his hands tightly together till his knuckles were white. A soft murmur went through the group.  
"How exactly do you think you're going to do that?" The Director questioned evenly.  
"That had to have been their best sniper, we have never seen an attack like that ever. Only rumors of a sniper that can hit clean head shots, only when we have pushed too deep over the years." Kasen said placing the coin on the table, a large hole where the bullet went through. "So where would they keep the best sniper? Has to be the home base." Kasen said coldly looking back up to the Director as he folded his arms.  
"You want me to approve for you to go to Russia, deep into enemy lines to do what? Kill the sniper? Or bring him back for questions?" The director asked, watching Kasen closely.  
"Bring him in for questioning and then kill him when we get the answers." Kasen said darkly, waiting on edge for an answer.  
"This is something we need permission to do from many people. We can't just pass a mission like that especially if it's Kasen we are sending in." A woman spoke up. She was dressed in formal military clothes and Kasen recognized her as Director Angela in charge of dispatches and newcomers.  
"I've done a few infiltration missions in the past. I have the training." Kasen snapped, giving the woman a glare before Kasen turned his gaze back to his Director.  
"Those missions in the past were small and just past enemy lines, not across the ocean. We would need to set up transportation and an escape route for you to take. This isn't a decision that we can make over one day. You will wait till I get the all clear before you even think about leaving. There is much work to be done here in the meantime." The Director replied evenly giving Kasen a stern look. "Do you understand Kasen?"  
"Yes Sir." Kasen hissed out looking away his hands shaking as he was filled with frustration.  
"Take time to look through security cameras, work with our elite hackers to confirm who the sniper is and where to find him. Everything must be planned out. Write out a detailed report on how you will go about the mission, turn it in to me. I will make necessary revisions to it and then brief you once we get the mission confirmed. Go get rest and cool down." The Director said waving off Kasen and he got to his feet briskly heading out as he rushed off to his room to begin the work.  
After 6 weeks had gone by Kasen had sat in front of computer screens for many hours with some of the tech people and hackers who struggled daily to get into the enemy files. For weeks the man seemed to not exist till a report popped up. Kasen looked over unsure what he would find on it. The report was about a sniper mission, the more he read the stiller he got. It was the attack on their base.  
"The stamp for the file is out of their central base, just like you had thought. This name is very serious though Kasen." The hacker Kasen got to know named Kevin said tapping the screen with the back of his finger. "Kenzo issued the attack. That's the man in charge of that area of the army and bases. You absolutely don't want to cross paths with him, things could go extremely badly for both sides. For some reason he selected the sniper specially for the mission, it only has C.K. for the snipers name. Seems they did a lot of censoring and carefully worded this whole report. I've looked over hundreds of reports... this is weird." Kevin said seriously, looking it over closely with Kasen.  
"At least we finally know that the sniper is to be found on the central base. Can you print this out so I can get it to the Director?" Kasen asked before getting to his feet as he pulled on his jacket. Kevin nodded quickly printing it out and passing the report over to Kasen.  
"Be careful, make it back here in one piece. You're crazy for going alone but see you when you get back." Kevin said, giving Kasen a nod. Kasen nodded back, taking the paper.  
"I'll be fine. Later." He said evenly before briskly heading to the Director Ravencroft's office. He paused as he arrived the door parted slightly and hesitated to knock, listening carefully. He recognized the woman's voice as Director Angela that spoke against the mission the bar weeks ago and the tired sigh of his Director.  
"Kasen can not go on this mission. He is physically important to the military. There isn't anyone else like him. He is 25 years old and is the best created soldier we have. Send someone else or don't allow this mission to happen." The lady ordered. He could head Director Ravencroft's chair slowly turn, and he knew that when his Director was annoyed he tended to turn his chair more sideways.  
"Kasen is extremely capable of handling an espionage mission. And taking a hostage and getting out of the area. He is the only suitable soldier for this mission. You may not want to tear apart the sniper for answers, or care about the fallen. But my team and I personally do. We get even and we do that with what we know how to do. The higher-ups and the president already approved us to get this intel back here to our base. I will not treat Kasen like some specialized weapon that needs to be kept on a chain." The Director said coldly, Kasen could feel the glare on the Directors face from where he stood. Slowly Kasen straightened up and pushed open the door entering. Crossing in front of the woman looking through her as he passed the report to the Director.  
"I have found the location. Do I have your permission to head out?" Kasen asked, watching as the report was looked over closely and their eyes met.  
"You better be safe. If things get tense or you may have been compromised, leave and come back immediately. Do I make myself clear?" Director Ravencroft questioned and Kasen nodded slightly.  
"Yes Sir." Kasen said, evenly turning to give Director Angela a glare. Kasen rushed back to his place, tossing together a bag as quickly as possible for the mission. He was determined to get to Russia as fast as possible to track down the sniper with the initials C.K.


	2. Chapter Two

Cyrus's eyes slowly fluttered open in the morning light. He shifted gently pushing down slightly his fluffy comforter as he shifted onto his back, sticking one leg out the side of his blankets as he stretched slightly.  
"First time this month I didn't have that dream." Cyrus sighed deeply as he slowly dragged his hands over his face and smiled slightly as he sat up. "Hopefully that means today is going to be a good day." He sighed crawling out of bed and clicking on his playlist as he began to get dressed for the day taking his time to sing along and dance about when his favorite songs played. Today he had a meeting and was to look over some new recruits or soldiers transferred to be at this base now. Cyrus swept all his hair back into a neat bun and paused to look over himself in the mirror. Dressed in his full black military clothes and having his jacket pulled on he looked a lot more respectable, especially with his hair neat for a change. Cyrus always got teased off and on when he was younger for having a bit softer features and playing with his sister and taking care of her. But he much rather look how he chose then try and shove himself into a box to fit in. His ebony eyes paused on the patch tightly sewn over another that had the symbol for captain on it and frowned trailing his finger over it in thought.  
"Guess it's time to go." He said softly after blinking out of his thoughts, tugging on his solid black ballistics vest making sure it was on and checked his knives and hand gun making sure he wasn't forgetting anything before sliding his phone into his back pocket and his id into his jacket pocket. On the way to the meeting Cyrus picked up his usually overly sweet iced coffee that was basically mostly milk and pushed open the conference room door. He was walking in exactly when they would be starting and gave a relaxed smile as all eyes turned to him. Kenzo had been in mid sentence to start the meeting and his eyes narrowed on Cyrus as he walked in. A scientist shifted slightly pushing out the empty chair next to her for Cyrus to take a seat. He eyed the lady and then relaxed when he recognized her face. Vyron had her specially sent over so they could have someone they trusted on the inside of the medical team that would make sure Kenzo didn't try to order anything to be done to Cyrus against his will.  
"Morning Rose." Cyrus said quietly nodding slightly to her and she smiled politely.  
"Now that everyone is gathered." Kenzo said looking through Cyrus as his eyes scanned the room. "We have new and old soldiers coming in today. Cyrus has been assigned to look over the soldiers to see if anything promising has come to the base." Kenzo said evenly his cold eyes trailing down to his notes neatly laid out before him. Kenzo had grey hair kept short and slicked back, he dressed in the finest tailored suits, today it was red and black. His steely eyes paused on Rose who Cyrus sat next to. "There has been much discussion and conflicting views on the renewal of the program." Kenzo darkly sighed. Cyrus tensed up, he had been in mid sip of his coffee and set it down loudly on the table.  
"Are you referring to the experimentation on soldiers? Because there is a good fucking reason why that program was closed." Cyrus evenly growled, giving Kenzo a stern gaze.  
"Watch your tongue." Kenzo snapped staring back at Cyrus disapprovingly. "Perhaps you rather just stay the only one so you will be more of use... and not replaced." Kenzo said smoothly watching the way Cyrus bristled at his words.  
"Perhaps I don't want hundreds of people to die when we know its chances of success is 1%." Cyrus said coldly. "If you try to push for this program to reopen I will personally report you." Cyrus smoothly said lifting his coffee to take another drink his eyes locked on Kenzo's intense gaze. He knew that opposing Kenzo would come back later to get him but in a room where Cyrus could speak freely and Kenzo couldn't act on his rage Cyrus felt much safer to defy him. A murmur went through the group at Cyrus's words to report Kenzo and slowly Rose reached under the table tapping Cyrus's thigh lightly twice before subtly tucking something into his pocket. Cyrus kept still making sure not to react as he looked to the rest of the council and Directors. "Do you all agree that we should focus on what works for now and not kill our own people?" Cyrus questioned his brows drawing together as he studied each and everyone's faces. A soft murmur of agreement came from around the room all for a select few that are loyal completely to Kenzo and his wishes. "Sounds like the majority vote says no to the program." Cyrus said, giving a cold glare at Kenzo. Kenzo sat very still looking over Cyrus, his teeth clenched together for quite some time.  
"Best be on your way to meet the new members. They will be here any moment." Kenzo hissed. Cyrus slowly stood up annoyed as he didn't look to anyone else but Kenzo. "You can order me out, but you can't silence me. Vyron, report to me anything else I miss later today please." Cyrus said warmly looking to Vyron who nodded slightly and gave Cyrus an approving look and a slight smile. Cyrus briskly walked out of the conference room shutting the door a bit louder behind him then he had intended and let out a deep sigh, pausing to read over the note Rose had slipped into his pocket. 'Kenzo ordered the program to start secretly. 45 dead.' It read in tiny neat handwriting. Cyrus stood there for a long moment his blood ran cold. He knew he should have expected as much but sometimes he hoped for the best only to be reminded why he expected the worst first. He tucked the note back away before heading outside over to the obstacle course where all the recruited and transferred stood lined up. The drill sergeant blew his whistle as groups began to run the course and Cyrus came to stand next to him watching carefully. One particular man stood out for the group easily maneuvering through the course and wasn't hesitant to do the harder sections like the other newbies. The odd thing for Cyrus, based on the man's skill he would have assumed he was transferred but he was dressed in the recruited clothing. Cyrus nodded slightly to the man as he watched.  
"I'm going to spar with that one." Cyrus said softly to the sergeant who gave him a slight nod. After the man got done the drill sergeant called him over and Cyrus watched as the man tensed slightly walking towards them and saluted the sergeant.  
"Sir?" Kasen asked, waiting until the sergeant gave a gesture to stand at ease.  
"You are to spare with this Captain, he has taken an interest in your skill." The sergeant said pointing to a clearing off to the side fenced in dirt ground smoothed out. Kasen followed Cyrus watching him pull off his jacket and placed all his weapons on it before jumping over the fence with ease. By now people began to crowd about wanting to watch as Kasen joined Cyrus.  
"Are you sure you want to spar?" Kasen asked looking over Cyrus, other than being much shorter than him Cyrus looked like he wouldn't be able to swing a hard enough punch to do much harm to him.  
"Why are you questioning?" Cyrus asked curiously watching the way the man was sizing him up.  
"You're just rather...small." Kasen said slowly a bit unsure and a murmur of laughter echoed around them and Cyrus eyebrows drew together slightly annoyed.  
"And you're the most fit and athletic recruited soldier I've ever seen." He said smoothly seeing the way Kasen's face grew more serious. A voice from the crowds began to yell a countdown. As zero was yelled Kasen closed the distance taking hard swings at Cyrus watching how his ebony eyes tracking every moment blocking him with ease. As Kasen began to add in kicks and jabs and faint punches he was getting frustrated how the man before him could move around with ease toying with him. Cyrus suddenly grabbed Kasen's wrist when he swung a punch too close to Cyrus's face. Cyrus turned quickly using Kasen's momentum to haul him over his back and down to the ground before him. Kasen blinked a few times, shocked he just slipped up for just long enough to get thrown. Cyrus stood over Kasen for a moment hesitating when Kasen didn't get up right away.  
"Are you-" Cyrus began before Kasen had grabbed Cyrus's leg pulling it from under him watching him lose balance falling. Cyrus hit the ground hard letting out a soft gasp as he quickly shifted to get back up, Kasen moving quickly getting on top of Cyrus as he pinned him down.  
"How did you get those scars?" Cyrus asked, looking over the scars on the left side of Kasen's face.  
"When I was little, don't remember much of it." Kasen said calmly, shrugging. Cyrus hummed softly in thought as his head tilted slightly, before moving his legs up around Kasen's torso twisting hard as he traded spots and Cyrus smirked looking down into Kasen's pale green eyes.  
"So are you new or you just wearing recruited clothes for fun?" Cyrus asked in Russian watching the way Kasen listened closely to him.  
"Someone thought it would be funny to run off with my bag when showers were done this morning shortly after arriving. So no I'm not a recruit, I simply needed clothes to wear." Kasen replied evenly as Cyrus's eyebrows raised in thought before suddenly straightening up fully, taking a few steps back so Kasen could get up. Kasen slowly got to his feet, his intense gaze locked on Cyrus as he gritted his teeth together.  
“Finally getting serious.” Cyrus said with a smirk looked Kasen over before he was rushed. Kasen began to swing with everything he had watching Cyrus flinch as a punch connected to his ribs. “Not bad.” Cyrus said softly, locking his eyes with Kasen’s for a moment before quickly going back to watching his movements.  
“I have a good deal of training.” Kasen finally spoke before swinging a roundhouse kick, giving an impressed hum as Cyrus managed to block with his arm in time staggering from the force. “Have you seen enough?” Kasen asked, going on the defensive as Cyrus regained his footing.  
“I believe I have. Come." Cyrus said jumping the fence and the crowd groaned upset they didn't get to see an entertaining fight. Cyrus pulled back on his jacket and weapons as he started walking towards central base. Kasen jogged to catch up to Cyrus falling into step at his side.  
"What's your name?" Kasen asked, looking over Cyrus unsure where exactly they were going.  
"Cyrus." He responded hooking his thumbs in his pockets as he walked. "You?" He asked Kasen.  
"Kasen. Where are we headed?" He questioned carefully eyeing the central building.  
"Well Kasen, you will see." Cyrus said calmly and nodded to a few soldiers who stopped to salute him as he walked by. Kasen watched how everyone seemed to look at Cyrus and salute and he shifted slightly eyeing the capitan symbol on Cyrus's jacket.  
"Have you been on this base for a long time?" Kasen asked as they entered the building and walked down many branching hallways.  
"Yeah pretty much sense day one, I travel to other bases for a week or so then return if I go anywhere else." Cyrus said thoughtfully as they came to stop at a door and Cyrus unlocked and pushed it open letting Kasen enter first before locking the door behind them.  
Kasen slowly looked around the bedroom, the bed was a mess of blankets and pillows, almost everything else was more chaotic organized, stacks of books, art supplies and a clear stack of military reports and papers sat in layers on the desk. Cyrus walked past Kasen as he turned on a small speaker plugging his phone in and turning on some music just loud enough it could cover talking.  
"Is this your room?" Kasen asked, shifting his weight a bit unsure.  
"Thought it be the best place we could actually talk without someone listing in." Cyrus said, his face becoming serious as he looked to Kasen. "Do you know why I'm talking to you privately?" Cyrus asked, crossing his arms. Kasen stared Cyrus down thinking carefully over everything he had done so far in front of this man. He knew his Russian was as perfect as it could be, he had practiced it all his life to blend in with native speakers.  
"I don't believe I do." Kasen carefully said as he slowly began to walk to Cyrus's desk looking over the books and eyeing the files but unable to see what exactly they were without picking them up.  
"What do you do exactly? What's your area?" Cyrus asked Kasen calmly, plopping down on his bed watching him.  
"My area is infantry, though now that I've been transferred farther away from the front I believe I'm being tasked with something else." Kasen said evenly pausing as he saw a black cloth wrapped around something on the far side of the desk.  
"How interesting." Cyrus said smoothly smirking as he listened to Kasen causing him to turn to meet his eyes by the way Cyrus spoke. "You really must not know much on how our central base functions. I suppose that's a good thing, but a bad thing for you. Though do admit, you're lucky you met me first before you could say something as stupid as that to who ever your superior officer is that was selected for you." Cyrus said smoothly watching Kasen's every movement carefully. Kasen studied Cyrus, his brows drawing together.  
"I don't understand." Kasen said evenly. Watching Cyrus slowly stand up from the bed coming to stand directly in front of Kasen.  
"If you're infantry, you wouldn't ever get tasked with something else unless you get promoted. You would be only at central for a few reasons. Selected for a specialized team, wounded seriously enough that only the best doctors can save you, or you're new and need to be trained." Cyrus said calmly as he looked up into Kasen's green eyes, searching them carefully. "We do things a bit differently than you would think." Cyrus said, waiting to see if Kasen would try to correct him on anything or not. When the silence went on between them for too long and Kasen stood tense Cyrus let out a soft sigh. "You also don't know who I am." He said softly, taking a few steps back from Kasen.  
"Why would I need to know who a captain is?" Kasen asked at last, his voice defensive. Cyrus sighed softly as his gaze lowered in thought.  
"So what base are you from? What I'm trying to understand is why would you come all this way?" Cyrus questioned staring down Kasen. "And don't tell me some random base you know of here. I'm talking about overseas." Cyrus said, his eyes narrowing in thought.  
"Who are you exactly?" Kasen questioned as he could feel his heart pick up and his hands slowly tightened into fists.  
"Not going to answer my questions first?" Cyrus asked, chuckling lightly. Watching the way Kasen shifted his weight, sizing up Cyrus carefully once more. "I'm the only person on this base that wouldn't turn you in." Cyrus said softly, growing serious again. Kasen paused, confused.  
"And why would you not? What's in it for you?" Kasen questioned watching the way Cyrus smiled slightly.  
"I would like to offer you a job. You will actually be paid, you wouldn't have to kill people from your side if your loyalty stands with them. I will need some details on why you are here and if you will be calling or some kind of communication of reports on your activities here so I can plan a cover for you in case you slip up. If you accept you will be working closely with me and the others once you have earned my trust." Cyrus said seriously, folding his arms as he watched Kasen's confused face.  
"A job? Wait, you just backed me into a corner saying that I'm from the overseas enemy army and now you want to hire me?" Kasen questioned his eyes narrowing.  
"Well I never flat out said you're from the enemy army, just implied." Cyrus said smoothly with a slight smirk watching how Kasen tense up even more his hands slowly clenching at his sides.  
"And what would I be doing exactly working with you?" Kasen growled.  
"We would be looking into a problem. Suspicious base activity in this area and even this base but I need someone capable to have my back. I'm deciding to be reckless and ask you. So do what you will, knowing that. You would potentially have the ability to kill people at these bases if we become noticed." Cyrus added on smoothly. Kasen took a slight step away from Cyrus feeling confused and unsure.  
"You're wanting me to spy with you?" Kasen asked carefully.  
"That's a simple way. I'd like to sit in on your reports, you will give an outsider perspective that I need. Also what is happening is something that must be stopped. Either internally from me or externally for you and your people if I find an attack against this base is needed to right the wrongs here." Cyrus said calmly sitting down in his chair at his desk slowly crossing one leg over the other. "What do you think, love?" Cyrus asked smoothly with a smile.  
Kasen frowned, glaring at Cyrus as he stood frozen in thought.  
"You're different than anyone I expected to meet here." Kasen said at last watching Cyrus tilt his head in interest. "I'll do it. But I won't be here long. Once I find what I'm looking for I'm leaving." Kasen said evenly.  
"Very well. We are at an agreement." Cyrus said getting to his feet. "You will be staying here with me to ensure no one bothers you and gets suspicious. We start tomorrow." Cyrus said calmly, collecting the files off his desk and pulled open a little filing cabinet dumping them in and locking it up. "You hungry? Tired?" Cyrus asked, looking over Kasen closely.  
"I guess a bit of both." Kasen said defensively, locking eyes with Cyrus. "Why do you keep looking me over?" Kasen demanded getting a slight smirk from Cyrus.  
"I need to get you clothes that fit. Clothes to fit the job I've offered you." Cyrus said with a slight chuckle. "If you think I'm checking you out, I've already done that long ago." Cyrus said smoothly heading to the door pausing. "Don't go anywhere. I'll be back with some food and clothes for you. Do you understand?" Cyrus questioned sternly.  
"Yes Sir, I do." Kasen grumbled watching Cyrus leave, shutting and locking the door behind him. Cyrus sighed once in the hallway running his hands over his face as he stood still for a moment. 'That definitely went better than expected.' Cyrus thought to himself before he began to briskly walk down the hall knowing he would need to make quite a few stops.  
Kasen stood there eyeing the door for a bit. The thought of leaving crossed his mind now and then. It was unheard of to him, an enemy asking to work together. Kasen slowly began to wander the room, looking over Cyrus's desk fist. He had taken care to remove any military documents and put them in that filing cabinet and paused lifting a picture up off the desk. Cyrus stood in the middle with a huge grin on his face to his left an older lady with a warm smile stood. And to Cyrus's right a young woman perhaps two years younger than Cyrus leaned against him with a smirk on her face. Their arms around each other's shoulders standing before a large stone fireplace, the glow of the fire behind them. Kasen slowly put the picture back with a troubled expression.  
"Must be his family." Kasen breathed to himself as he leaned down trying the filing cabinet and gritted his teeth knowing breaking into it would be too noticeable, for now. Kasen made his way to Cyrus's phone playing the music and tapped on the screen seeing the lock pop up and sighed moving on. He crossed to the other side of the room as something caught his eye and lifted a sheet from the clothing hamper, dark dried blood soaked into it and an alarming amount. Kasen stared at it for a long moment before tucking it back into the hamper, his eyes flickering to the door unsure when Cyrus would return.  
"I doubt he would explain that to me." Kasen sighed frowning as he shuffled a few more steps to a bookcase trailing his eyes over all the books in thought.  
"He has a lot of fantasy and romance." Kasen said slowly kneeling as he got to the comic and Manga section his brows raising. "But not bad taste." Kasen hummed in thought, taking a seat on the floor as he pulled out some of the comics reading through them as he waited.  
After a half hour Cyrus shoved the door open carefully holding a thick stack of clothes in his arms and a bag of food balanced on top.  
"Here take the food before it falls." Cyrus breathed as Kasen quickly put the comics back and stood briskly walking to Cyrus taking the bag and paused when he saw a drink balanced next to it, taking it too. Kasen took a few steps back giving Cyrus some room. With a tired sigh Cyrus used his foot to push open his closet placing the clothes on an empty shelf. "Got you a few pairs of uniforms, athletic wear and sleep clothes." Cyrus said, glancing at Kasen's shoes, his shoulder relaxing when he saw that they were solid black. "Your shoes already meet requirements thank god." Cyrus breathed sitting down on the foot of the bed. Kasen stood there unsure before sitting on the floor using the foot of the bed to support his back as he relaxed back against it opening the bag pulling out the wrap Cyrus had brought him and took a bite. It was ham but stuffed with vegetables and drenched in mayo and ranch dressing.  
"Is this what you order for yourself?" Kasen questioned once he finished the first bite.  
"Yeah." Cyrus said softly with a slight smile. "If you hated it I was going to eat it for you." Cyrus said with a chuckle. Kasen glanced at Cyrus looking over how relaxed he seemed for them being so close.  
"I suppose I should get used to eating what you like then." Kasen said evenly as he began to eat it faster. Cyrus stood walking over to his bookshelf eyeing the comics Kasen had been reading.  
"You were making yourself at home." Cyrus said smoothly with a smirk getting a glare in response by Kasen. "Don't worry I don't care." Cyrus sighed with a tired smile.  
"Oh don't kill me in my sleep, but I really need to rest." Cyrus breathed as his hand moved up over his mouth trying to hold back a yawn. "You're more than welcome to rest too. You don't have to sleep on the floor." Cyrus calmly said as he laid down on the left side of the bed curling up with a soft throw blanket. Kasen nodded slightly as he worked on finishing the wrap and looked over his shoulder to Cyrus and paused when he saw a bit of blood dripping from the left side of his nose.  
'Did he get hurt when he was gone from the room?' Kasen thought to himself as he drank down the cherry soda and collected all the trash into a bag and placed it in the little floor trash can, crossing back to the bed slowly laying down on the other side of Cyrus. Cyrus shifted slightly before turning to his other side towards Kasen, his breathing slow and shallow already asleep. Kasen studied his face closely. From Cyrus's slight upturn to the tip of his nose, cupids bow on his lips to his cheekbones framed by hair falling loose from his bun. Kasen had to force himself to look away, he hated to admit that Cyrus was attractive to him and that the fact that he offered for him to work with him seemed completely unbelievable. Kasen bit at his lip hoping there was a way to find the sniper and soon. After a bit he dozed off to sleep exhausted.  
Cyrus shifted as he woke, almost surprised he was still alive. His eyes fluttered open to look at Kasen laying next to him asleep. Kasen laid on his side with his arm tucked up under his head and his slicked back hair had fallen forward across his forehead. Cyrus slowly got to his feet as quietly as possible checking the time and his head turned sharply checking the clock twice, reading very early morning. It had just been late afternoon when they had laid down, Cyrus scanned the room to make sure Kasen didn't try to get into anything while he was asleep but found everything still in place.  
"Hey." Cyrus whispered softly gently tapping Kasen's shoulder lightly, jumping as Kasen suddenly lurched awake. "I'm sorry, it's morning time to get to work." Cyrus said calmly with a slight smile at the pissed off look on Kasen's face.  
"Fine." Kasen grumbled, getting to his feet stretching as he ran his fingers through his hair.  
"You must have been pretty tired." Cyrus said calmly, picking something up off his desk and held it out to Kasen.  
"I suppose so." Kasen said carefully, reaching out taking the little plastic card Cyrus was holding out to him eyeing it. "What is this?" Kasen questioned with a frown.  
"A temporary badge to get around. Made it yesterday for you." Cyrus said calmly, shrugging slightly as he pulled on his jacket and a grey knit hat, sliding it back so his bangs hung out and tucked the rest of his hair into it. Kasen grabbed one of the solid black uniform's from the stack Cyrus had got him and quickly pulled it all on, keeping his back to Cyrus. Kasen was shocked that it actually fit him, his eyebrows raising.  
"Looks good." Cyrus said softly with a slight nod before opening the door making sure Kasen was close behind. Cyrus led Kasen down to many hallways to keep track of and down flights of stairs till they stood in a medical area. Kasen looked around at thick glass separating the hallway from different surgery rooms. Cyrus lightly grabbed Kasen's wrist as he quickly led him down a side hall getting a bit low.  
"We are getting to the area I'm thinking could be one of the locations." Cyrus whispered to Kasen who quickly crouched to Cyrus's lowered position as he followed, glancing around on edge of what to expect. As they rounded the corner Cyrus stopped as through the glass up ahead over 20 beds laid body bags yet to be zipped with dead bodies inside, tubes hung all over the room and a few people inside in lab coats moved around ordering the bodies to be moved.  
"What the hell is all that?" Kasen whispered looking over all the dead, blood running out of their eyes, nose, mouth and ears as the muscles in their body could be seen falling apart rapidly under the skin.  
"One of the many things I need to put an end to. Experimentation on our soldiers. Kenzo thinks he can use the mutation drugs and other chemicals of who knows what to change living people to be stronger and more resilient, you could say superhuman but that's being generous." Cyrus whispered making Kasen tense up staring from Cyrus back to the dead bodies.  
"So they are all dying from the dosage?" Kasen questioned carefully and watched Cyrus nodded his head slightly.  
"We should get moving before someone comes down this hall." Cyrus breathed turning back around his eyes distant for a moment before blinking a few times glancing over to Kasen. Kasen nodded slightly as he looked back towards the lab one last time before falling into place behind Cyrus. The sound of footsteps up ahead echoed down the hall causing Cyrus to freeze up for a moment spinning around to Kasen.  
"Go with it. Pull my hair down." Cyrus said quickly, shoving Kasen up against the wall looking up at his startled and confused face before raising up to his toes kissing him. Kasen hesitated for a moment, to stunned to think. He tried to resist shoving Cyrus away before he heard the footsteps getting closer. Kasen's hands fumbled up into Cyrus's hair as he slowly returned the kiss hooking his finger through the hair tie and pulling it free as a group of three people rounded the corner. Cyrus let out a soft sigh as his hair brushed down against his shoulders and then Kasen's fingers ran up into his hair immediately. Cyrus slowly parted his lips from Kasen's looking up to him slowly through his lashes as he lightly bit his bottom lip, letting it slip through his teeth before turning to look at the people his face flushing.  
"Ah i thought this wasn't a very used hallway-" Cyrus breathed at the stunned lab people.  
"Cyrus?" One of them asked, an older man stepping forward from the group.  
"Yes?" Cyrus answered a bit on edge but flashed a shy smile.  
"You shouldn't be down here, best you head back." The old man said sternly as Cyrus removed himself from Kasen the rest of the way and stalked towards him.  
"I can go anywhere I want on my base." Cyrus growled inches from the old man's face watching him take a slight step back. Cyrus glared at him for a few more moments before his mouth twisted into a smile. "But a more private spot is definitely needed." Cyrus said smoothly walking around the group studying each one of them closely before waving Kasen to follow. Once out back up on the main level of the building Cyrus's tense shoulders sagged slight.  
"Who was that man?" Kasen asked, eyeing Cyrus.  
"One of Kenzo's special doctors." Cyrus whispered with a frown. "He will definitely report to Kenzo that I was down there, it just depends what Kenzo will do when he finds out." Cyrus sighed softly.  
"What did you think? You agree that it's inhumane the experimentation?" Cyrus questioned looking over at Kasen's stoic face.  
"Mmn, I think it is definitely concerning. What is the success rate?" Kasen carefully asked, locking eyes with Cyrus.  
"1% chance they live longer than that. But none have ever made it past day two if they have." Cyrus said softly looking away with a troubled expression.  
"I do agree. It shouldn't be going on. If this was my base and I found out about something like this I'd be trying to prevent it too I suppose." Kasen sighed, running his fingers up through his hair and paused glancing at his wrist where he had slipped on the hair tie and quickly pulled it off holding it out to Cyrus. "Sorry I should have gave it back sooner..." Kasen trailed off as he looked over Cyrus with his hair down. The length longer than he expected brushing the bottom of his shoulder blades and his hair was very thick with a slight wave from drying pulled back in the messy bun.  
"No problem." Cyrus said softly, taking it from Kasen, tilting his head when he saw Kasen staring at him.  
"Like what you see?" Cyrus said smoothly, raising his eyebrows making Kasen look away, his cheeks turning a more noticeable shade of pink.  
"No, I just wasn't expecting you to kiss me." Kasen grumbled. Cyrus chucked in thought as he began to pull his hair up, leading them back to his room.  
"Yeah I'm sorry. It's the best thing I could think of, they would be unsure what to do then question why we were there." Cyrus sighed leaving out the front two sides of his hair and swept his bangs across his forehead. Kasen hummed in thought glancing at Cyrus once he saw him finish pulling up his hair and he felt his heart skip a beat as he suddenly flashed back to right before the attack and the man he had spotted on the street. Cyrus unlocked the door to his room waiting till Kasen entered and locked it behind them.  
"Cyrus... what weapon do you use?" Kasen asked carefully, standing a foot away from Cyrus staring him down.  
"What? Why?" Cyrus asked, his eyes narrowed slightly as he tilted his head.  
"Just tell me." Kasen growled, talking a step towards Cyrus.  
"Listen... how about we discuss this in a bit?" Cyrus asked evenly, taking a slight step back knowing he would soon back up into the door.  
"Do you or do you not know how to shoot with a sniper?" Kasen demanded his hands tightened into fists.  
"Kasen, I-" Cyrus trailed off searching for the right words as a loud knock at the door made him jump slightly. Cyrus's eyes widened as he looked around his room and then up at how tall Kasen was. It took Kasen a moment to process what was going on as suddenly Cyrus was shoving him into his closet. "Just... fuck- stay here. Don't come out okay. Just-just like don't pay any attention please." Cyrus said quickly, his voice shaking slightly as he shut the closet doors and headed towards the door hesitating as another loud knock came.  
"Open the door now Cyrus." Kenzo's voice sounded from the other side and Cyrus closed his eyes for a moment taking a slow deep breath as he forced his hands to steady and his face became expressionless as he unlocked the door opening it only for Kenzo to come in shoving Cyrus back before slamming the door shut.  
"Cyrus do you know why I'm here?" Kenzo said smoothly looking down at Cyrus who stood still keeping his eyes focused on Kenzo and his breathing calm.  
"Am I to actually guess or are you just going to tell me in a few moments?" Cyrus questioned and he felt the sting of the slap across his face before he heard it.  
"You think you're so clever." Kenzo hissed gabbing Cyrus by the jaw glaring down at him. "I've raised you better than to walk into a conference and behave the way you did, and stick your nose in my business." Kenzo growled.  
"You didn't raise me." Cyrus said evenly glaring back up at Kenzo. "And the only thing I did was try to protect innocent people from you." Cyrus hissed. Kenzo grabbed him by the hair roughly in one swift motion taking away time for Cyrus to pull his hands up as Kenzo swept his feet out from under him and slammed his face down to the floor.  
"Playing the hero again? With all the blood on your hands your no hero Cyrus." Kenzo sneered. "When are you going to wake up from your little fantasy? You speak of peace and ending this war. And everyone laughed in your face. You know why? It's because you're nothing but a child who needs to be put back in his place. Did the little mission I sent you on not help you get your priorities in line?" Kenzo asked leaning down to talk close to Cyrus's ear and when Cyrus began to push up off the floor Kenzo shifted as he began to undo his belt watching as Cyrus's eyes reflexively closed. "If you're not trying to kill yourself, you're rebelling against me." Kenzo said darkly as he brought the belt down hard across Cyrus back hearing a light gasp come from Cyrus as he flinched. "Such a shame Vyron manages to get you stable, be better for everyone if you just did them all a favor and died already." Kenzo purred, bringing down the belt again.  
"Fuck-off Kenzo." Cyrus spit the words out as his voice caught in his throat. Kenzo took the belt looping it around Cyrus neck swiftly using it to drag Cyrus up to his knees watching Cyrus work his fingers between the belt and his neck to try and keep it from not tightening any farther.  
"Language." Kenzo spat out before taking a breath to collect himself. "Next time you decide to slit your wrists I'm going to have you sent away where they are going to strap you down to a bed, medicate you till you're physically paralyzed and let you rot away, soon no one will even remember who Cyrus Kaimyo even is." Kenzo said yanking the belt tight listening to Cyrus's breaths cut off into choking. "I'm disappointed that I ended up with a son as useless as you." Kenzo breathed in Cyrus's face watching the tears finally fall from Cyrus's eyes. "Next time we have a conference, you are to behave like a good boy. Do you understand? And when I tell you to kill an entire enemy base. I expect to not find out you left survivors. I'll kill them next time if you disobey me again." Kenzo growled pulling the belt even tighter watching Cyrus lips go blue as his hands that had been trying to break him free finally dropped to his sides and Kenzo unlooped the belt from his neck watching Cyrus crumple to the floor unconscious and slowly slipped his belt back on before turning and leaving.  
Kasen stood frozen in the closet, his heart beating out of his chest as he waited a few long moments to make sure Kenzo was gone before slowly stepping out of the closet looking down at Cyrus, his hands shaking. Kasen's thoughts were moving a mile as minute as he walked briskly to the desk unwrapping the black fabric looking down at his knife and then back to Cyrus, his face grim as he placed the knife between his pant leg and his boot. The man he had come looking for was right in front of him this whole time, he had been right but Kasen hated he didn't realize sooner. But things were much more complicated then he had wanted to be made aware of. Slowly Kasen walked to knell next to Cyrus checking to make sure he was breathing and then shifted Cyrus's coat collar to look at the bruising that was slowly showing up around his neck. Then Kasen took one of Cyrus's arms pulling up the jacket sleeve and then the long black sleeve of Cyrus's shirt looking down at all the scars lining the inside of his arms with a troubled stare. He tugged the sleeves back down before lifting Cyrus up into his arms and laid him down on the bed before he began to pace back and forth running his fingers through his hair. Cyrus shifted waking, coughing for a short bit before his eyes began to focus slowly moving his hands up to his face laying there silently for a long moment.  
"I need you to fully explain everything to me." Kasen said softly, coming to stand next to the bed looking down at Cyrus. Cyrus slowly lowered his hands, his ebony eyes opened focusing on Kasen looking a bit defensive.  
"What do you want me to explain?" He breathed his voice rough. "You're here for me, to kill me. So do it." Cyrus said softly and Kasen gritted his teeth before sitting down on the edge of the bed. "That man... Kenzo said if you disobey he would kill... who?" Kasen asked, watching Cyrus turn his head to look away.  
"Why are you asking me questions?" Cyrus breathed, confused whipping away the remaining tears with his hands.  
"Because, depending on what you say depends if I'm going to let you live or not." Kasen smoothly breathed as he slipped the knife out of its temporary holder in his boot, holding his tactical knife tightly in one hand.  
"My mother and sister." Cyrus whispered his voice shaking slightly. Kasen sat there for a moment drawing a slow breath.  
"Okay so... emotional blackmail. Would he actually go through with the threat?" Kasen questioned watching Cyrus slowly look back to him with how calm Kasen was making himself be.  
"Yes." Cyrus said seriously his eyes locked on Kasen and his brows drew together trying to understand why Kasen was asking taking the time questions as if he was actually interested.  
"He mentioned you talked of ending the war?" Kasen asked, the slight confusion in his voice noticeable. Cyrus drew a careful breath as his eyes closed.  
"You want me to talk of peace when you know I've personally attacked your base?" Cyrus questioned and Kasen's free hand tightened into a fist.  
"I want to know if that's how you actually think." Kasen said carefully. "I mean thoughts of there being no war with how long it has been going on sounds a bit... idealistic." Kasen breathed studying Cyrus's face closely, trying to understand him better.  
"What I want is to not be surrounded by a corrupt system and families no longer losing the ones they love in this country or any country fighting in a war that has lost sight of why it started and how to come to an end." Cyrus said evenly, meeting Kasen's gaze. "Is that so wrong of me to want a life and a world different then the one it is now?" Cyrus questioned watching Kasen's brows draw together in thought.  
"I haven't said there is anything wrong with what you're saying. I'm only listening as neutrally as I can." Kasen said calmly. "Trust me my original plan was much different then what's happening now." Kasen sighed deeply. Cyrus looked at Kasen a bit defensively.  
"And your plan, so what is it now?" Cyrus questioned eyeing Kasen. Kasen sat there for a long moment slightly looking away frowning.  
"Suppose you'll just have to find out." Kasen said, frowning as he stood over Cyrus clasping his hand down over his mouth as he pulled a needle out of his boot and pulled off the cap injecting it into Cyrus's arm watching him slowly go under before hauling Cyrus's limp body over his shoulder. 'Now or never to keep the plan on track.' Kasen thought to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More chapters on the way! Thank you for reading and feel free to leave some comments! Hope you enjoy and continue to support my work!


	3. Chapter Three

Cyrus's memory was hazy as he could see ghost images of Kasen standing over him, his hand firmly pressed to his mouth and the sharp pick of a needle. He had let his guard down and he wasn't sure if it was because he wanted to pay for the blood on his hands finally or because of something else he could quite figure out. As Cyrus blinked slowly focusing on the bright florescent lights on the ceiling above him surrounded by white padding his heart skipped a beat. He moved to sit up and got his head up just a bit before the rest of his body resisted. As Cyrus looked down he was relieved he was still in his normal clothing, but he was fully strapped down to the bed and the more his eyes wandered the room the more his heart picked up. Cyrus was quite familiar with torture tactics and right now he found himself in a white room. He struggled one more time to check how tight the restraints have been done and gritted his teeth as he found no way out of them. A voice suddenly came on intercoms in the room making Cyrus jump slightly startled.  
"I see you're finally awake. Let's begin then shall we?" An older man's voice echoed darkly. The door to the white room opened and four armored men made their way over to Cyrus undoing the straps holding him down and two grabbed his arms dragging him off the bed and holding him high enough that just the tips of his shoes touched the ground. Cyrus's eyes struggled to adjust as he was dragged out of the room but right before he could get a good look at the hallway a black bag was pulled over his head blocking his vision. After being dragged for some time Cyrus was tossed down into a chair and then his wrists and ankles strapped to it and he felt the chair suddenly lean back so he was at a slant.  
"We can do this the easy way or the hard way up to you." The man from the intercom spoke near Cyrus's ear making him tense up as the hood was pulled off and Cyrus squinted in the dim light unable to adjust as a towel was dropped on his face and Cyrus's hands gripped the chair arms tightly knowing what was coming next. Water slowly poured over the cloth at first Cyrus was able to work through it before slowly his lungs began to heave trying to make himself breath but instead Cyrus let out a muffled choking noise. Went on for what felt like a very long time to Cyrus before the chair was pulled back into normal position and the towel taken from his face. Water slowly ran out from his nose and he blinked a few times looking down at his lap taking heavy breaths. Cyrus had been trained in all torture methods and how to not break, the expected rule to die then say anything. Being disoriented and just barely conscious was a whole different feeling on top of everything. Slowly Cyrus blinked up through his wet lashes to a table before him a man dressed in a formal all black military suit sat calmly watching Cyrus.  
"My name is Director Ravencroft, the man you met Kasen is part of a specialized team I oversee." The Director said smoothly folding his hands as he looked Cyrus over. "Kasen also mentioned you noticed he was out of place right away. Such bad luck you were what he was looking for. Such a quick and successful mission." The Director said calmly before nodding his head to the man slightly out of Cyrus's line of sight who pressed the towel back to Cyrus's face, tipping the chair back and pouring the water once more. Cyrus struggled to try and stay calm and not get frustrated, emotions would make this whole thing so much more complicated. As he was tilt up once more and the towel removed Cyrus couldn't help but suck in a deep breath before coughing a few times as more water ran out of his nose and he sniffled slightly with a frown not enjoying the feeling.  
"Who do you work for?" The Director asked calmly tapping a pen slowly to a notepad as he observed Cyrus.  
"Kenzo." Cyrus breathed out his ebony eyes staring down the Director on edge waiting for more fun in the water.  
"Kenzo, I need a last name as well." The Director said frowning before he gave the nod and Cyrus was tipped back again with the towel on his face suffocating more under the slow pour of the water his hands shaking from how tightly he had them gripping the chair and as the chair was pulled upright and the towel removed Cyrus let his head bow sucking in raspy breaths blinking a few times trying to get reoriented.  
"Kenzo Kaimyo." Cyrus whispered before coughing a few times, his chest heaving as his lungs worked to catch his breath.  
"Kenzo Kaimyo." The Director repeated calmly writing it down. "This the same man that is leading a great portion of the army?" The Director questioned smoothly watching Cyrus's eyes narrow slightly but not raising his head.  
"Yes." Cyrus said evenly, bracing for another round but instead the Director leaned back in the chair slightly.  
"What's your full name?" He asked calmly watching as Cyrus finally lifted his head a bit at the question.  
"Cyrus... Kaimyo." Cyrus softly answered hearing the Director hum in thought.  
"Any blood relation?" The Director questioned and Cyrus's brows drew together starting to question what all Kasen had reported.  
"Kenzo is... my father." Cyrus forced out hating having to say it. And watched as the Director wrote something else down.  
"So you're quite valuable then." The Director said thoughtfully and Cyrus gritted his teeth.  
"You will get nowhere trying to use me as a hostage against him." Cyrus hissed out watching as the Director raised a brow.  
"Oh? And why is that?" He asked calmly leaning forward to rest his arms on the table.  
"I'm nothing important to him. Kenzo only cares about himself." Cyrus said evenly his expectation changing into a glare as he looked into the Director's eyes. After a slight pause the Director gave a nod and Cyrus let out a soft frustrated sigh as he was being tipped back and struggled through the pour much longer than all the rest till he was choking and his chest convulsing. He felt the familiar feeling of about to lose consciousness and his hands slowly went lax as he was suddenly turned up right, his head hanging down weakly as the towel dropped to his lap the man didn't pull it away in time from Cyrus's distant gaze on his still face.  
"You're clearly trained but starting to fall apart much quicker, I heard Kasen was rather rough with you, perhaps that's why I'm not as impressed." The Director sighed crossing his arms watching Cyrus take shaky breaths.  
"Been awhile." Cyrus whispered as he forced himself to raise his head back up.  
"How long have you been trained on a sniper for?" The Director asked tapping the pen again on the pad slowly.  
"Ever since I could hold a gun." Cyrus said, trying to sound calm and collected again and not so breathy and in pain.  
"Interesting." The Director said, looking Cyrus over slowly. "Anything else special about you?"  
Cyrus frowned, his eyes lowered to the floor unsure. His silence made the Director lean in a bit closer, smirking and nod as Cyrus was pulled back once more as the cloth dropped over his face and the water slowly poured over, there was a slight pause where the chair began to be lifted back upright before dropping back down again and the water immediately pouring making Cyrus squirm as he struggled with keep collected and not gasping loudly, he would keep his dignity through this. By the 4th time of being almost immediately tilted back Cyrus felt like he was going to get sick letting out a tired groan between hacking up water and sharp breaths that shook his body.  
"I-I" Cyrus began as he was pulled back once more. As the towel was removed Cyrus bit at his lip his body shaking and his lungs felt like they were burning.  
"Go on." The Director said smoothly with a slight smile as he watched Cyrus.  
"The only other thing is... I'm physically made for long distance fighting." Cyrus choked out grimacing that he actually said it.  
"Physically made?" The Director echoed curiously looking to the man behind Cyrus and then back down to Cyrus. "Are there others like you?" The Director asked with a frown but intrigued look.  
"No. I'm the only one." Cyrus breathed evenly feeling completely exhausted and worried there would yet be more.  
"How fascinating, I suppose next we should run experiments on you to see what all you mean by that." The Director said standing. "I'll let the scientists and doctors have fun with you." He said patting the top of Cyrus's head as he walked past leaving.  
Cyrus sat there slowly working through all that just happened and flinched when he saw the shadow of the man next to him move and toss the soaked towel to the table before undoing the restraints on Cyrus, a hand sticking Cyrus's wet hair back from his face. Cyrus turned his head weakly trying to see who this person was and froze when he saw it was Kasen.  
"I'm surprised you actually answered questions." Kasen sighed, pulling Cyrus from the chair, keeping his arm around Cyrus. Cyrus lowered his head staggering his legs barely able to support him.  
"You-were the one?" Cyrus breathed out his troubled gaze locked on the floor. "I don't have much to lose, why waste time lying?" Cyrus mumbled as Kasen guided him back to the white room and lightly shoved Cyrus in.  
"See you again in a bit." Kasen said, seriously as he pressed his lips together before closing and locking the door behind himself. On the bed was a pair of all white scrubs waiting to replace the soaking clothes he had on but wasn't sure if he should even bother, or what would happen to his current clothes. Cyrus moved to sit in the corner of the room and after shivering for what he believed to have been an hour he made his way back to the bed, pealing off his wet clothes to the floor till he was in his form fitting black underwear.  
"This is going to suck." He said holding up the white pants and looking back down to his back underwear with a deep sigh before pulling on the pants and then the shirt before letting his hair down so it would dry. Cyrus finally decided it would be best to rest his body after all of that and slowly crawled onto the bed to lay on his stomach the pillow over his head, his arms lightly resting around in. Cyrus always laid on his side so he figured it would be a hassle to get comfortable like that but luckily the exhaustion finally hit.  
Cyrus woke to the sound of the door opening and he barely had time to get his head out from under the pillow before he was being grabbed and dragged along the black bag pulled back over his head as soon as he was taken into the hall. When it was finally pulled off Cyrus froze up. He was being strapped down to an operating table with people in medical clothing and gloves and masks on moving about a trey of medical tools just barely in his line of sight. Cyrus reflexively yanked at the restraints panicking, if it was one thing he hated it would be this sort of thing. A woman walked up to him giving him a cold stare before injecting something into Cyrus's leg before he slowly couldn't move his body but still vaguely feel it.  
"I have it ready to begin." The lady said to a man sitting in a chair close to Cyrus's who nodded grabbing Cyrus's arm moving it out onto a little side table from the bed and looked it over pausing when he saw all the scars and glanced into Cyrus's panic filled eyes for a moment before he began cutting into his arm peeling the skin back as they all crowded around studying the way his muscles were structured in a slightly different way and other medical things Cyrus didn't understand. The only thing he could seem to process was he could just barely process a dull pain and nothing else as he stared at his arm horrified as they continued to pick it apart. Cyrus watched the blood come running out and onto the floor and he could feel strong panic at the back of his mind and the need of self-preservation. Cyrus closed his eyes tightly as the group split into two and began to work on his leg in the same way. Cyrus questioned if this was how he was going to die, being taken apart while still alive and let out a half audible chuckle. As he began to no longer feel them poking around his eyes slowly began to open as he watched them all stand a few feet away from him watching with shock on their faces and Cyrus's brows grew together wanting to know what made them all step away. Cyrus slowly looked to his arm and saw the layers that were ripped open where slowly repairing itself till it closed back up all the way a faint scar left in its place.  
'Oh... that." Cyrus thought to himself, he didn't even will his body to heal, he figured it was most likely running on its own senses due to the state of shock and panic he was in. One of the doctors ran out and after some moments the Director slowly followed them back inside looking over all the blood on the floor but Cyrus with lack of wounds. One of the doctors slowly approached grabbing Cyrus's hand and took a knife cutting open his hand letting the Director watch it heal up. Cyrus couldn't quite figure out the look on the Director's face, if it was rage or intrigued or disgusted but Cyrus closed his eyes wanting to disappear. He could hear in the distance one of the doctors speaking softly to the Director.  
"The way his muscles are connected, it's definitely different then a normal person, they are in a way that he can definitely run fast, lift more than his size would allow if carefully done, he is definitely built to do more specialized things." Cyrus could hear them whisper and the conversation continued but much harder to understand. After some time the straps were undone and the Director stood looking down at Cyrus as his eyes slowly opened.  
"Toss him back into the room till I decide what I want to do with him." Director Ravencroft said evenly, giving a cold stare to Cyrus before turning and leaving. Shortly after he left four armored men came in undoing the straps from the bed and shoved Cyrus's head into the black bag. Cyrus felt them drag him off the surgical table and the faint feeling of his legs being dragged on the ground till he was face first on the ground and the bag being pulled from his head. The bright white light and walls surrounding him once more. Cyrus laid there fading in and out of consciousness till he was finally able to manage to push himself off his stomach and onto his back. His stomach hurt with hunger and his mouth felt like it was filled with sand. Cyrus gritted his teeth as he forced himself to sit up his muscles shaking in protest and his head spinning. Slowly Cyrus forced his eyes to move around the room and paused on a small bottle of orange juice sitting next to the door, a bit off to the side by a small panel that could slide up but hidden from the cameras by the angle of the bed. Cyrus slowly dragged himself over, straining to get it open. He kept it held low so it would be hard to see what he was doing and quickly gulped it down, gasping once he reached the bottom. Cyrus's chest heaved as he drew a shaky breath, tears coming to his eyes. 'Did Kasen sneak this in for him? Or was that just wishful thinking.' He thought to himself as he tucked the empty bottle under the bed and flopped back onto the floor too weak to move anymore. Cyrus tried to keep his mind busy knowing it was important to keep thinking and remembering as much as possible sense time didn't exist in the white room. But with the state he was in he could either lay there or think, his body still much too weak to do any sort of physical exercises. The door opened pushing Cyrus's legs aside as it did as the armored men entered looking down at Cyrus silently as the other held the bad. Cyrus blinked at them frowning.  
"Going for another trip?" Cyrus breathed out as he was hauled to his feet the bag once more over his head. Cyrus felt them sit him down into a chair, strapping down his arms and legs as the bag was pulled off. Cyrus recognized the man in a lab coat as one of the people present from the surgery room and slowly lowered his head looking over the chair, feeling his heart skip a beat as wires were hooked up and the man slid a tray of water under his feet.  
"Are you ready to get started?" The man sneered leaning in close as he slipped a band around Cyrus's head hooked up to more wires.  
"If I said no would you even wait?" Cyrus breathed, getting a cold laugh from the man. The man sat down across from Cyrus holding a switchboard in his hand and nodded to a lady that entered the room to a larger control panel in the wall behind him.  
"My name is Doctor Smith, and I'm going to see how much you can take, sense you can regenerate this should get rather interesting." Doctor Smith said with a grin watching Cyrus's eyes widen.  
"No it doesn't work like th-" Cyrus stammered out but was cut short as the first surge of electricity bolted through him. Cyrus gasped in pain, clenching the chair as it faded. He blinked a few times trying to keep focused as Doctor Smith shook his head in disappointment.  
"Needs more." He said evenly and the lady nodded, turning a dial and the doctor flicked a switch on his panel as a more intense surge shook Cyrus. He gritted his teeth unable to breath till they finally released it, gasping for air as the room spun. Cyrus was holding back everything he had from screaming in pain, a choked groan slipping from his lips.  
"More." Doctor Smith said smoothly as the woman turned it even more. Cyrus drew a shaky breath, his heart felt like it was beating out of his chest, and his body nothing but intense pain. Time seemed to slow as the doctor flipped the switch and it took Cyrus a moment to process that his raw throat and the agonizing scream echoing the room was coming from himself. After a bit the voltage ended and Cyrus's head dropped forward his body slumping as tears streamed down his face. The Director grinned darkly leaning forward.  
"Turn it up again." He said smoothly to the lady as the door to the room swung open and the Director walked in furious.  
"Did I give you permission to electrocute him to death?" The Director growled glancing to Cyrus who sat there motionless as he approached Doctor Smith.  
"N-no Sir." Doctor Smith breathed, shrinking back from the Director slightly.  
"Then why the hell is he here looking barely alive?" The Director growled as he pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket as he turned to Cyrus lifting his chin in his hand, feeling no restraint. Cyrus's eyes were closed and he paused to hold his finger under his nose feeling a shallow exhale. The Director frowned in though as he wiped away snot and saliva from Cyrus's nose and mouth and folded it to a clean section as he wiped away Cyrus's tears.  
"Wake up." The Director said evenly patting Cyrus's cheek watching his eyes barely open, his gaze distant.  
"Cyrus." The Director said a little less harsh his brows drawing together as he waited. Cyrus blinked a few times before his eyes slowly began to focus on the Director's face.  
"You need to say something." The Director sighed, eyeing him.  
"That sucked a lot." Cyrus breathed out in Russian his voice barely audible. The Director lowered Cyrus’s head as he let go, tucking the handkerchief away as he took off the head strap and undead the restraints.  
"Stand up and follow me." The Director said, evenly taking a few steps back as he folded his arm waiting. Cyrus slowly shifted his body screaming in protest as he pulled himself to his feet, his body almost crumpling to the floor right away. Doctor Smith reached out to catch him for a moment before Cyrus smacked his hand away surprisingly fast.  
"Don't you dare touch me." Cyrus spit out as he forced himself to take a few steps towards the Director.  
"What did he say?" Doctor Smith breathed looking to the Director and then back to Cyrus confused.  
"He said not to touch him." Director Ravencroft said evenly giving a cold glare at the Doctor before heading out into the hall at a slow pace so Cyrus could keep up. "Are you able to speak in English?" The Director asked calmly once the shut behind them. Cyrus pressed his lips together as he staggered slightly, leaning on the wall for support.  
"Yes. But it's easier if I don't... have to focus on what I want to say." Cyrus sighed weakly as his knees started to buckle and the Director grabbed Cyrus by the arm as he supported him.  
"Don't complain, you can't even walk and it would take too long to get to my office." Director Ravencroft said evenly, getting a slight nod from Cyrus as he led him along. After confusing turns and through unmarked doors Cyrus was far too out of it to memorize, they came to an office and the Director sat down at the desk. In one of the chairs sat Kasen, the empty chair next to Kasen Cyrus sank down into taking his head in his hands for a moment as he waited for the room to stop spinning.  
"You look like hell." Kasen's voice echoed into Cyrus's ears making Cyrus's breath catch slightly the way his cold yet smooth tone sounded.  
"Thank you." Cyrus breathed sarcastically forcing himself to raise his head up only for a stream of blood to come running out of his nose and down his chin. The Director sat still his eyes moving between the two of them and his brows drew together.  
"Your nose is bleeding." The Director said evenly shoving a box of tissues towards Cyrus. Slowly with shaking hands Cyrus pulled out a few tissues holding them to his nose. "You're both here because of some recent developments. Cyrus is to be placed under your watch Kasen for the time being." The Director said seriously causing Kasen's brows to raise, taken aback as he glanced to Cyrus and then back to the Director.  
"What do you mean under my care?" Kasen questioned his posture shifting as he tensed up.  
"I trust you the most to keep his presence a secret for now. I've been notified we are having some visitors come by and I rather not get Mr. Kaimyo transferred from us. Can you handle that?" The Director asked Kasen seriously and Kasen shifted, nodding slightly as his brows bunched together.  
"Are we going to put like a tracker or something on him?" Kasen questioned gesturing to Cyrus before casting a skeptical look his way.  
"You honestly think I'm going to make a run for it? Just swim back to Russia?" Cyrus sighed softly but this situation did have him thinking, who was it that was coming that this Director who definitely had a lot of power in this base was worried about.  
Kasen gave Cyrus a cold stare.  
"You would have to behave, you treat me as a captain. My team will be suspicious about someone new, let alone a sniper." Kasen said coldly and the Director frowned in thought.  
"If you run into problems you call me, for now we will put on an ankle tracker that will be able to stay hidden under your boots comfortably." The Director said calmly before lifting a thin black band and walked around attaching it around Cyrus’s ankle and pressed in a code to the tiny screen as it beeped locking into place. The Director straightened up walking back around to sit at his desk sighing. “If you try to mess with it in any way, I will be informed immediately and there will be extreme consequences.” He said darkly as he placed on the desk Cyrus's clothes, getting a slight nod of understanding from Cyrus. But his jacket sat off to the side and Cyrus lowered his gaze as his heart picked up, he knew what was coming next.  
"What rank is it that you hold?" The Director asked Cyrus evenly, staring him down.  
"Captain." Cyrus said calmly, taking as even breaths as he could for the pain he was in, his eyes raised to meet the Director.  
"What rank is Kenzo?" The Director asked as he folded his hands together watching Cyrus's every move.  
"Speaking in your terms without all the fancy filler words, he is a 3 Star General." Cyrus said carefully, not breaking his gaze locked with the Director's. Cyrus could feel Kasen's eyes on him and he looked over him sharply raising an eyebrow as their eyes met and Kasen looked to the Director shifting slightly.  
"And what rank did you have before Captain?" The Director asked lifting Cyrus's jacket into his hands, looking it over holding it in a way Cyrus couldn't tell if anything had been done to his coat. Cyrus frowned slightly, his eyes trailing across the floor in thought. "I was still a captain, just in charge of my own team." He said evenly raising his eyes to meet the Director's who sat there paused for a moment before he stood sharply, snatching the jacket off the desk and rounded the table he reached out to grab Cyrus by the front of the shirt and stopped when Cyrus suddenly flinched away from him shrinking back in the chair slowly blinking up at him when his hand stopped. Cyrus sat there for a moment before he processed what just happened, looking down at the Director's hand that had paused inches away. The Director stared at Cyrus looking him over for a moment and slowly dropped his hand on Cyrus's shoulder pulling him forward on the chair moving the jacket between them.  
"I want to know about the patch that's under the captain one." The Director said calmly, watching Cyrus's face as his eyes lowered down to the patch that was pulled back ever so slightly, a different symbol barely showing through.  
"It's an old jacket." Cyrus said after a pause, swallowing a bit hard as he looked down a bit more. The Director pulled away walking back to the desk fishing out Cyrus's ID from his pocket dropping it on the desk.  
"You can only tell me now, or I will hand your ID over to our tech people and they can just get it for me. I much rather hear you say it instead. Be less painful on your side that way too." The Director said coldly.  
"You already know what the symbol is. I don't have to explain it. You just need to know what exactly? I used to be that rank? Yes okay? Less painful is a lie, I know what happens when someone like me gets taken prisoner." Cyrus snapped his voice shaking slightly as he stared down the Director.  
"How old are you?" The Director asked, his eyes narrowing in thought.  
"I'm 24." Cyrus said softly, feeling a bit uncomfortable. He was used to people judging him by his age.  
"And when did you get that rank?" The Director asked calmly.  
"When I was 22." Cyrus sighed, gritting his teeth as he crossed his arms. Kasen looked between them at a loss on what rank they were discussing, frowning as he folded his arms studying Cyrus and quickly uncrossed his arms gripping his thighs so he wouldn't be mirroring Cyrus. Kasen's head tilted as he noticed the edges of Cyrus's ears were a bit red.  
"What happened to cause it to be changed." The Director asked, his eyes narrowed slightly on Cyrus.  
"If you're implying I did something to get demoted then no. To everywhere else my rank never changed. Kenzo 'changed it' at the base and that's the way it is right now." Cyrus said bitterly.  
"I don't understand, you out rank him and yet you follow his orders?" The Director asked evenly.  
"It's much more complicated then it may seem..." Cyrus said carefully. "Though if I'm ever given the chance the only way to fix the problems that Kenzo has made is to take him out." Cyrus said softly, making Kasen speak up finally.  
"How high of a rank are we talking about?" Kasen questioned confused looking between Cyrus and the Director. "And you want to kill Kenzo and I can definitely see why but won't that ruin your whole reputation? Can't you just get him removed?" Kasen questioned drawing everyone's attention to him.  
"It doesn’t matter what rank I am or am not. And if getting Kenzo removed had worked then I wouldn't be on the solution I am now." Cyrus responded evenly, locking eyes with Kasen. "Kenzo has filled people's pockets to win loyalty, no matter what I say to the council I get brushed off by Kenzo and his growing supporters if it's something Kenzo is really after. We're looking at a few steps away of him trying to be the fucking Czar of Russia. Which would be a way more brutal war if he tried to gain more power. My life is valuable because I'm the only one that stands in his way." Cyrus said softly as the Director leaned back in thought, staring Cyrus down.  
"Perhaps. You both are dismissed for now." The Director said to both of them motioning for them to leave and Cyrus slowly got to his feet the room spinning from the sudden movement and stumbled bumping into Kasen who reflexively grabbed Cyrus's shoulders.  
"At least carry your own clothes if you can't walk." Kasen sighed, watched Cyrus take his clothes under one arm and Kasen took Cyrus's other arm pulling it around his torso since Cyrus was too short for his arm to go around his shoulders to help him walk.  
"Thanks" Cyrus breathed as he walked along with Kasen outside and moved a bit closer to him pressing up to his side. Cyrus could feel everyone's eyes move to him as they walked past. He was still dressed in the all white scrubs with dried blood in some places on it, and he knew he physically looked terrible.  
Kasen glanced down when he felt Cyrus press into his side seeing the way Cyrus kept his eyes straight ahead but could feel how tense he was and as Kasen raised his head he gave a cold glare to anyone who had stopped to stare kicking himself mentally for not finding a place for Cyrus to change first. Once they reached Kasen's room Kasen picked up Cyrus and dropped him onto the bed.  
"What's all wrong with you?" Kasen questioned eyeing Cyrus, who laid there a bit dazed for a moment.  
"I lost a lot of blood, not enough food...electrocuted some. Just a lot of things at the moment." Cyrus said softly pressing his lips together as the room stabilized around him. Kasen walked briskly to his fridge snatching the jug of orange juice and filled a cup as full as he could taking it to Cyrus helping him sit up he helped hold the glass making Cyrus drink as much as he could of it.  
"Sounds pretty bad." Kasen said softly with a troubled expression.  
Cyrus squirmed slightly, he always disliked the flavor of orange juice but he did what Kasen wanted, letting out a little sigh once the glass was taken away slowly looking up into Kasen's eyes, inches away as Kasen had been leaning over Cyrus to help him drink.  
"Why are you being so nice to me?" Cyrus whispered his brows bunching together. Kasen froze for a moment gazing back into Cyrus's deep eyes before sitting the glass aside, straightening up so he wasn't so close to Cyrus, heading back into the kitchen to look for something to give him to eat.  
"Am I being nice?" Kasen questioned frowning in thought looking back to Cyrus with a glare. "Is this better? I can't have you dying on my watch, so I have to at least treat you decently." Kasen said carefully, Cyrus stared at him before smirking slightly. Kasen headed back over placing a bowl of rice and sliced steak into Cyrus’s hands. “It’s leftovers but it’s food.” Kasen said evenly watching Cyrus quickly eat as much as he could nodding slightly.  
"Whatever you say Captain." He said smoothly once finished, placing the bowl on the small side table as he looked down at the bed. "Is it okay if I sleep under your blankets?" Cyrus asked, feeling a bit awkward that he was on this man's bed. Kasen studied Cyrus for a moment before turning away silently searching through his drawers and tossed at Cyrus a black tee shirt and dark grey sweats.  
"I guess, but change first I don't want my sheets to be all gross." Kasen sighed walking over to his desk turning on the lamp before sitting down pulling some papers in front of him and began writing. Cyrus carefully changed into the clothes given to him laughing slightly at how huge they were on him and had to tie the sweats extra tight to stay on his hips. Kasen paused mid-writing when he heard Cyrus laugh, it was a light carefree sort of laugh that made the corners of his mouth go up slightly and Kasen bit his lip so he would stop smiling before he glanced over his shoulder at Cyrus seeing him swimming in his clothes and the pen slipped from his fingers rolling across the desk. Cyrus looked to Kasen when he heard the noise of the pen falling, his laughter faded as he gave an embarrassed smile.  
"Im sorry, your clothes are just much bigger than I expected." Cyrus said softly crawling under the covers pulling them up over his nose as he sighed getting comfortable. Cyrus drew a slow deep breath one last time and his eyes slowly closed. Kasen's blankets smelled surprisingly good, of fresh linen and sandalwood and a slightly musky incense smell. Cyrus found himself quickly falling asleep nested under the blankets and hugged the spare pillow to his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and continued support! This chapter is rather short but fairly intense. Hopefully I did just enough detail to keep all of it interesting, feel free to comment your thoughts on the chapter or story so far. I'd love to know what you think. More chapters on the way!


	4. Chapter Four

Kasen slowly turned his chair when he heard a soft knock at his door glancing to Cyrus, just his eyes a messy hair sticking out from the bunched blankets he had wrapped himself in and as another knock came forced his attention back to the door and quietly crossed the room putting a finger to his lips as he opened it meeting Freya's bright blue eyes. "You can come in just need to be quiet." Kasen said softly. Freya gave him a few unsure nods before entering, closing the door behind her and paused when she saw a man sound asleep in Kasen's bed.   
"Who is that? Why do you have someone in your bed?" Freya whispered, taken back looking to Kasen with a big eyed stare. Kasen shifted his gaze to Cyrus, frowning. Freya had never seen Kasen look so conflicted before her brows drawing together as she watched Kasen carefully.   
"He is a new member of the team, the Director had him transferred here. So he has to be my roommate for now." Kasen said coldly looking back to Freya and his eyes lowered to the shoulder where she had been shot. "How are you healing up?" He asked softly a bit on edge as his hands tightened at his sides.   
"Almost back to full normal." Freya said carefully, wandering over to the kitchen. "Is everything okay Kasen?" Freya questioned pulling down three glasses filling them each up with about two shots worth.   
"Yes, everything is fine." Kasen replied evenly, walking over to her and picking one of the glasses. "Just not used to sharing my space, that's the only reason I'm on edge a bit." He sighed, tipping back the shot finishing it off. Freya nodded her shoulders' relaxing trusting Kasen before she took the last two glasses in her hand bounding over to the bed and Kasen pushed off the counter. "No-" he ordered out but it was too late Freya plopped down on the bed next to Cyrus beaming at him.   
"Hello! My name is Freya. Kasen is my captain, I've been informed you're a new member of our team." She said warmly. Cyrus jolted awake by the sudden movement of the bed, his head turned looking to Freya and paused in mid motion of trying to throw off the covers and pushed himself to sit up smiling politely as he dragged his fingers through his hair smoothing it out as best as he could.   
"Hello." Cyrus said nodding to her and she held out the glass and Cyrus carefully took it. "Yes, I got here a few hours ago so I was just resting a bit." Cyrus said carefully looking down at the rum in thought not used to being handed alcohol.   
"What is your name?" Freya warmly asked, tilting her head slightly as she looked Cyrus over.   
"Cyrus Hale." Cyrus immediately responded calmly watching Freya repeat his name softly under her breath a few times.   
"What is your weapon or specialty for the team?" Freya asked curiously and Kasen hovered tensing up as he waited on edge for Cyrus's answer, his breath catching.   
"I'm a sniper." Cyrus said calmly, his expression changing to a bit of an apologetic look. "I'm sorry what happened here at the base... but now that I've been transferred here I can make sure I out snipe them." He said confidently, catching Kasen and Freya off guard. She nodded slightly rubbing at her shoulder slightly.   
"You really think you can? You didn't see..." she trailed off as her eyes watered slightly and Cyrus's brows drew together as his eyes filled with pain.   
"No I didn't witness it... and haven't lived through what you have exactly but we all lose people we care about. I'm sorry, I know it must be very hard... I shouldn't have said anything." Cyrus said ever so softly lowering his eyes to his hands and Freya struggled to smile.   
"It's okay really, you meant it in a positive way that you're here for reinforcements. I had no idea we had a sniper in the program." Freya chirped trying to bring back the positive mood. Cyrus chuckled lightly and shrugged.   
"My name doesn't get brought up much." He said calmly. Kasen slowly lowered himself to sit on his desk watching them speechless, his gaze locked on Cyrus. This man fell into a roll so easily and came up with enough vague details to his words that made them believable. Kasen bit at his lip in thought wondering when Cyrus blurs the line from truth into lies and if he would even be able to pick up on it. Freya clinked her glass loudly with Cyrus and took a drink watching Cyrus do the same and collected the glasses washing them.   
"Well look forward to working with you tomorrow. I should let you two relax." Freya and motioning for Kasen to walk her to the door. Kasen sighed, getting to his feet walking with her to the door blinking at her confused when she paused in the doorway, leaning in close to whisper to Kasen.   
"He is kinda cute, you think you're going to fall for him?" Freya beamed winking at Kasen. Kasen gave a cold stare and shook his head slightly.   
"Never. Also I'm captain to both of you, that wouldn't be very unprofessional if I got involved with someone on my team." Kasen said evenly and Freya frowned softly poking at Kasen's abs.   
"You're no fun, live a little." She said warmly sticking her tongue out at him for a moment before turning away and enthusiastically walking off. Kasen sighed deeply ribbing at the bridge of his nose between his eyes before shutting the door turning back towards Cyrus.   
"Sorry, I wasn't expecting her to stop by." Kasen said, frowning as he crossed the room back to the desk. "Was not expecting you to say those things..." Kasen and his eyes narrowing at the reports.  
"Figured it made the most sense logically for why I suddenly exist here." Cyrus and folding his arms watching Kasen sit tense at his desk.   
Kasen tapped his fingers slowly on the desk in thought.  
"It does... but still." Kasen breathed frustrated thinking about Freya trying to fight back her tears. "You can't possibly understand what she went through. Bringing that up is something you don't have the right to." Kasen said evenly. Cyrus shifted out of the blankets getting to his feet.  
"I have the right, if it's to play the part of someone in your military." Cyrus said evenly as Kasen spun the chair to face Cyrus getting to his feet as well.   
"You fucking shot her and I'm the only reason she managed to survive!" Kasen yelled as he grabbed Cyrus by the shirt shaking him slightly a few times. Cyrus shoved Kasen's hands off of him as he looked up at him, his face serious.   
"I'm sorry, I happened to have shot a lot of people here. I get it you almost lost your friend because of me. I understand there are hundreds dead because of me! I understand that I'm your fucking enemy! I'm just trying to make this fucking work as best as I can for all our sake!" Cyrus yelled back watching as Kasen suddenly swung a punch at Cyrus and ducked out of the way just in time but Kasen adjusted his weight, tackling Cyrus to the floor getting on top of him as Cyrus struggled slamming his hand down on Kasen's leg in a fist watching him flinch for a moment before the punch to Cyrus's face connected and he could feel blood running down from his nose. Kasen pulled back his hand for another swing and Cyrus used his one free hand gripping the front of Kasen's shirt as his head turned sharply to the left, his check aching from the punch. Kasen gripped Cyrus's neck as he began to tighten his hold breathing hard as a tear fell from his eyes. Cyrus struggled to break out of his hold, letting out a few choked breaths.   
"You- feel better?" Cyrus coughed out watching as Kasen's grip slowly loosened looking down at Cyrus, his eyes focusing on him.   
"No." Kasen breathed his hands shaking as he sat back straddling Cyrus's hips. Kasen looked over Cyrus's bruising cheekbone and bloody nose from the punches. "You can't bring them back." Kasen said bitterly watching Cyrus squirm slightly under him to be able to sit up, his face inches from his.  
"No... but I can make it so they didn't die in vain. I know my death is only partial payment. After Kenzo is dead... I'll die too." Cyrus breathed, unable to meet Kasen's eyes. "It doesn't bring them back but at least there is closure." Cyrus said softly, feeling Kasen's cold gaze and slowly raised his eyes to meet Kasen's pale green eyes.   
"Only time will tell." Kasen breathed getting to his feet wetting a cloth and tossed it at Cyrus. "Clean the blood from your face." He said before grabbing the bottle of rum walking out on a little balcony leaving Cyrus to sit there in silence dabbing at his nose. He glanced out the window to watch Kasen take large drinks from the bottle till it was empty sitting it on the table next to him before folding his arms on the table and resting his head down onto them. Cyrus slowly lowered himself down onto the floor, his back leaned against the bed as he pulled his legs up close pressing his face into his knees, silently crying until his eyes closed feeling numb.  
Cyrus woke to the morning light tucked back into the bed, he vaguely remembered falling asleep on the floor and Kasen's shadow over him for a few seconds. Cyrus pushed the blankets off looking around and found Kasen back out on the balcony sipping on a coffee as he looked out over the base. Cyrus dressed into his black military clothes noticing all patches had been removed. He glanced at himself in the mirror and was relieved to see he already healed off the injuries to his face the night before and pulled his hair up into a messy bun leaving the front sides hanging down like usual and gave his bangs a light fluff before sweeping them off to the side. Cyrus wandered out onto the balcony slowly sitting down across from Kasen quietly looking out over the base at groups on morning runs and vehicles heading out.   
"Morning." Kasen sighed pushing his coffee cup towards Cyrus. "You want the rest of it?" He asked tiredly and Cyrus slowly leaned forward to look at the coffee in the mug frowning slightly.   
"I hate black coffee... needs to be sweet and milky." Cyrus said softly and Kasen gave Cyrus a long stare. "Well this is all there is for today." Kasen said evenly watching Cyrus snatch up the mug and quickly swallow the remaining coffee making a disgusted expression once the bitterness filled his mouth sticking out his tongue slightly for a few moments before clearing his throat pushing the mug back towards Kasen.  
"Like drinking poison, no idea how you do it." Cyrus breathed shivering slightly at how bitter the coffee was. Kasen watched him slightly amused, not expecting that Cyrus would actually drink it.   
"I think it tastes quite good, this one has a chocolate flavor in it." Kasen said thoughtfully, running his finger along the rim of the mug.   
"Didn't taste chocolate anywhere in that. We must have a very different idea of what chocolate tastes like." Cyrus chuckled. Kasen hummed slightly as a response and stood taking the mug with him.   
"Come, we have work to do." Kasen said calmly watching Cyrus quickly get to his feet following. Kasen pulled on his ballistic vest looking over Cyrus fully dressed except for weapons and tossed an extra jacket at him. Cyrus looked over the jacket his eyebrows raised.   
"Am I to be always wearing your clothes like a girlfriend?" Cyrus teased, smirking as Kasen's ears redden slightly.   
"Shut up and put it on already." Kasen growled giving Cyrus a defensive look as he began to slip in his knives into place and his pistol at his hip. Cyrus eyed the 'K.B.' embroidered on the jacket next to the Captain symbol and slipped it on, the sleeves hanging down past his hands, the jacket quite big on him. Kasen was already walking out the door when Cyrus took his eyes off his sleeves and took off running to catch up. As soon as Kasen noticed Cyrus running to catch up he smirked starting to run himself and out onto the street. Cyrus pressed his lips together unsure why Kasen was suddenly running away and sped up, yanking the sleeves up his arms so his hands would be free of them. Kasen glanced back to see Cyrus quickly gaining on him and smirked looking back ahead running even faster as the obstacle course came into view ahead. Cyrus gritted his teeth as he focused on being faster racing just past Kasen as he eyed the obstacle course up ahead.   
"You play dirty! Giving me your huge jacket to slow me down!" Cyrus yelled back over his shoulder at Kasen grabbing either side the the bottom of the jacket and tying it tightly around his torso as he reached the first obstacle quickly taking the rope as he began to pull himself up letting it slide between his feet as Kasen grabbed the rope next to Cyrus wrapping it around his leg as he pressed his feet together working himself up the rope to catch up with Cyrus. Once they both reached the top Kasen quickly slid down taking a moment to watch the way Cyrus quickly repelled down the rope in a few quick sections, he should have thought carefully about what sort of methods Cyrus was trained on before doing the obstacle course out where everyone could watch. Cyrus glanced over to Kasen when he saw him standing there watching him before smirking and took off to the log hurdles making quick work of vaulting over it.   
By the time Cyrus and Kasen finished the course a small crowd had gathered to watch them and Kasen bent over panting and whipped at his sweaty brow with his arm letting out a tired sigh. Cyrus sauntered over to Kasen flopping to lean over his back letting out a light chuckle.  
"Are you exhausted, Captain? Looks like I won today." Cyrus said giggling softly before Kasen suddenly looped his arm around Cyrus's waist and then swept his feet out from under him watching Cyrus's shocked face look up from under him laying on the ground.   
"Just today." Kasen sighed out and gave Cyrus a slight smirk, he finally had someone that gave him competition. Cyrus's shocked face slowly became a warm smile before careful sitting up and getting to his feet dusting off as Kasen straightened up. A group of 4 men that had been watching began to approach, the man in the lead eyeing Cyrus with a glare.   
"Never seen someone climb a rope like that here, where you from freak?" The man growled watching Cyrus look up at him slightly with a confused expression.   
"Freak? The the fuck is your problem?" Cyrus questioned evenly, casting the man a cold stare before he could feel Kasen's hand grab his shoulder gently.  
"I ordered him to do it that way. Much harder." Kasen said carefully, his eyes narrowing on the men.   
"Well to us looks like that's how they do it overseas isn't that right?" The man sneered, his group murmured yes in agreement. Cyrus stood there for a moment thinking and rocked back on his heels, he had made a mistake and going the rope course the way this military group did should have been his first move not the idea of besting Kasen. The leader of the group closed the distance poking Cyrus's chest.   
"Can you speak Russian?" The man questioned watching the way Cyrus tilted his head.  
"Of course I can, it's required in my area to know it." Cyrus said calmly, catching Kasen's attention as he stared at Cyrus beamed a confident smile at the man and his thumbs tucked into his front pockets, standing tall. 'Was that a guess or did Cyrus actually know about Kasen's elite team? Though they were the most classified thing on the base so he assumed Cyrus just got lucky with that guess.' Kasen thought to himself.  
"Oh really then? I want to hear you say something." The man sneered smiling darkly at Cyrus.  
"Fuck off." Cyrus said in Russian smirking slightly as he watched the man's face curious if he actually knew what he had said or not. After a minute passed the man let out a noise of frustration as he suddenly grabbed Cyrus by the front of Kasen's jacket.  
"Something doesn't sit right about you." The man frowned before shoving Cyrus back roughly. "I'll be keeping an eye on you." The man breathed and Cyrus shrugged slightly.   
"Sure, it would be boring for you and a lot of missions you aren't skilled enough to tag along for... so good luck." Cyrus said calmly, watching the leader tense up before rushing back at Cyrus throwing a punch. Before Cyrus could move his hands up Kasen stepped in front of him grabbing the man's arm stopping him mid motion before using his free hand to punch the man hard in the stomach watching him crumple to his knees gasping.  
"Don't you ever dare lay a hand on one of my teammates." Kasen growled glaring down at the man before looking up at the remaining three men, all their confidence faded as they looked at their injured friend and Kasen's glare, and it didn't take long for them to scatter pulling the leader along with them. Kasen let out an annoyed sigh as he turned away motioning for Cyrus to follow.   
"I didn't expect you to stop him." Cyrus said carefully, eyeing Kasen who still had the glare plastered to his face. Kasen gritted his teeth slightly as he shoved his hands into his pockets.  
"You're not allowed to fight. Would be seen as you trying to attack. Only with direct orders are you allowed to." Kasen said coldly his glare locked forward. Cyrus lowered his head in thought, frowning a bit.   
"Oh, I see." Cyrus breathed biting at his lips lightly. "So if I somehow were to piss people off by just existing they could form a group like that one and beat the hell out of me and I have to just let them?" Cyrus questioned looking to Kasen with an intense stare.   
"I would need to be able to give you the order to fight back." Kasen said evenly, looking to Cyrus for a moment meeting his eyes. "You're to never leave my side so something like that wouldn't be possible." Kasen said calmly his glare slowly fading to just a neutral expression. Cyrus nodded his head slightly not happy with this rule that he didn't know about. They were half way down the main street when Cyrus slowly tensed his brows drawing together as he couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. Cyrus suddenly gasped as his eyes widened, turning to Kasen and shoving him hard away watching him stumble and fall to the ground.  
"What the hell Cyrus!" Kasen yelled laying on the ground looking at Cyrus as a bullet slammed through Cyrus's shoulder. Kasen stared at Cyrus for a moment before he looked towards where it came from.   
"Give me your knife." Cyrus choked out in pain as he motioned with his right hand, thankful the wound was on his non dominant hand. Kasen quickly pulled out his tactical knife he had just got back from Cyrus and tossed it to him watching him catch it with ease and staggered slightly as another bullet just barely missed him shooting where he was a moment ago. Kasen quickly got to his feet, his eyes searched up a building till he spotted a window open with a glint of a scope reflected now and then.   
"I'll go take them down." Kasen said as he began to run towards the building.  
"You're not going alone." Cyrus yelled after him running to keep up as people around them began to yell in panic and sires began to go off that they were under attack. "Those are new." Cyrus said softly to Kasen as he caught up and got a look of 'Really? Right now?' From Kasen as they bolted up the stairs. As they rounded the hallway of the floor the sniper was on Cyrus quickly yanked Kasen back into cover of a doorway right as a bullet passed by.   
"How do you know when they are going to shoot?" Kasen asked, looking at Cyrus confused.  
"Instinct, I don't know." Cyrus breathed as he flipped the knife in his hand so the blade faced down before getting low and taking off back down the hallway, the shooter nowhere to be seen. Cyrus paused outside the door that should be where they were attacked from motioning for Kasen to hold his position as he eyed the door before slamming his foot into it, breaking the door open. As it swung Cyrus threw the knife and there was a sound of surprise from inside the room. Kasen rounded the corner taking aim as he pushed into the room and Cyrus's hand on his shoulder as he followed and they both came to a stop staring confused. The Director sat calmly in a chair facing the door, the knife Cyrus had thrown in the chair just a few inches off to the side next to his head. The gasp Cyrus had heard came from a lady holding a sniper taking a few steps back as she raised her hands for Kasen not to shoot. Freya stood leaning against the wall watching her eyebrows raised as she looked from the knife to the gun in Kasen's hands he switched to safety mode.   
"Did you not know of the drill?" Freya questioned, confused watching the tense expression on Kasen's face as he stared down the Director.  
"Drill?" Cyrus spoke up first taking a few steps forward to stand next to Kasen looking around the room and then to the sniper. "I was fucking shot with a real bullet!" Cyrus said exasperated as he pressed his finger to the wound sucking in a sharp breath as he did and held out his bloody fingers. The Director calmly looked over Cyrus's fingers and then back to Kasen.   
"You two surprisingly work well together." The Director said folding his hands together. "Do you actually trust this man to have your back?" The Director questioned Kasen meeting his eyes. Kasen stood there tense and Kasen gritted his teeth slightly unsure how to respond, his brows drew together as he debated it over. Kasen glanced at Cyrus, who stood next to him who very subtly tilted his head slightly.   
"Cyrus please refrain from trying to give Kasen the answer you think I'm looking for." The Director said calmly leaning forward in his seat more interested. "Because just now Kasen showed he instinctively trusted you during this drill, despite the knowledge of who you are and what all you have done. So I wish to know how he personally thinks." The Director said evenly watching Kasen's eyes widened listening to the Director and lowered his gaze to the floor, feeling his heart pick up.   
"I-I..." Kasen stammered slightly as his hands tightened at his sides feeling deeply conflicted and Freya pushed off the wall looking skeptical and confused.   
"I'm sorry, have I missed something? You said that Cyrus is our new team member so what's up with this cryptic conversation? Why would you not trust him?" Freya questioned looking from Kasen to the Director and then to Cyrus who stood there shifting his weight slightly looking unsettled. The Director hummed in thought for a moment leaning back in the chair and pulled out the knife holding it out to Cyrus.   
"Draw blood from Kasen." The Director said evenly watching Cyrus's eyes narrow slightly as his lips pressed together. Freya had never seen anyone give the Director such a challenging look. Kasen's eyes focused fully on Cyrus watching the way Cyrus's dark eyes paused off to the side in thought before he walked up to him grabbed Kasen's hand and pricked Kasen's finger gently with the tip of the knife so a bead of blood pooled on Kasen's finger.  
"There, blood." Cyrus said evenly looking up at Kasen's surprised expression and then to the thoughtful look on the Director's face.  
"Now draw your own blood." The Director said evenly crossing one leg over the other. Cyrus gritted his teeth for a moment trying to understand why the hell he was being told to do all this stuff before pulling up the sleeve of the jacket and then his shirt, quickly slicing the blade across the inside of his wrist feeling the familiar feeling of blood running down his hand. Freya's face went white when she saw the blood and Kasen reached out snatching Cyrus's arm with the knife, too late from stopping him from going through with it.   
"Do you always value the life of others over your own?" The Director asked calmly watching Cyrus's expression darken. Kasen lifted Cyrus's bleeding wrist holding it high enough so it was above his heart pressing a cloth he had pulled from his pants pocket tightly to the wound silently and Cyrus tugged slightly about to pull away when Kasen's grip tightened more.   
"Depends a lot on who I'm with and if a life threatening situation is to arise." Cyrus said, evenly keeping his eyes trained on the Director. The Director stood crossing the room stopping a few feet away from them.   
"I'm sending the two of you on a mission." The Director said, evenly taking out a folded paper from his coat pocket and tucked it into Kasen's jacket pocket. "You're to head out tonight. Cyrus is allowed to have his choice of weapons, a sniper is required for this mission after all. I expect a detailed report, Kasen upon return. Freya will be on the coms from here at base in communication with the two of you in case anything is to happen." The Director said casting Cyrus a cold stare before walking back to the chair. "I also expect a response Kasen to my earlier question when you give me your report. You three are dismissed to prepare for the mission." The Director said waving for them to leave. Kasen pulled Cyrus along with him by the wrist he was tending to and didn't let go till they were briskly walking down the hallway in silence.  
"Never before have I experienced something as strange as that." Cyrus breathed at last once outside and it took him a moment to recognize the path they were taking to Kasen's apartment.  
"Silence. Don't speak." Kasen said evenly, making Cyrus fall silent immediately, looking to Kasen worried. Freya walked behind them a frown set on her face as she eyed Kasen, now she had a lot of questions she wanted answers too.   
Once inside Kasen locked the door behind them and pushed Cyrus to sit down on the bed, taking Cyrus other hand and making him press the cloth down to keep pressure. Cyrus did as Kasen motioned watching him silently stalk to the kitchen coming back with glasses of orange juice and water, placing it on the side table before Cyrus. "Anything else needed to help you heal?" Kasen questioned sharply watching Cyrus's eyebrows raise, looking at him confused before a smile spread on his lips. Kasen's eyes narrowed.  
"Silence." He reminded him evenly, feeling Cyrus was about to laugh and turned to Freya who was sitting at Kasen's desk silently watching.  
"You're acting weird." Freya said slowly, watching Kasen closely who only looked even more pissed off.   
"I'm frustrated that the Director didn't say anything. I'm feeling angry they used live ammunition. If Cyrus hadn't shoved me aside I would have taken a bullet to my chest. I hate having to work through emotional shit." Kasen ranted pacing back and forth as he spoke. "And now we are going-" Kasen said, pulling out the paper and looking it over completely losing his train of thought when he read it. "We are to overlook an enemy base, and if needed snipe down anyone visible from our chosen location." Kasen said slowly, frowning as he looked to Cyrus unsure. Cyrus's eyes moved to Freya for a second and then back to Kasen.  
"Sounds easy enough?" Cyrus asked his head tilting not sure what else to say.   
"Before you two change the subject." Freya said walking over to form a triangle with them as she crossed her arms. "Cyrus took a bullet for you and you let him follow you into the room. Why do you hesitate when the Director asked you if you trusted him?" Freya questioned.   
"Probably because I've only known him for a day?" Kasen said evenly, giving a cold stare. "Pretty fair reason if I don't fully trust him." Kasen sighed.   
"Fully." Freya said carefully. "So you admit you trust him... what 50/50?" Freya questioned eyeing Kasen.  
"Sure, whatever. Can we move on from this?" Kasen sighed deeply feeling stressed out, closing his eyes as he rubbed at the bridge of his nose between his eyes for a moment.   
"Fine. I'll leave you two to pack and I'll go get set up." Freya sighed defeated as she turned marching out and slamming the door slightly behind her. Cyrus and Kasen didn't move for quite some time just letting the silence hold between them.  
"Am I allowed to talk now? Well I mean I did a bit ago but you did look to me expecting a response..." Cyrus asked softly, watching Kasen drop his hand and open his eyes looking to him.   
"I swear you're just trying to get under my skin because you're curious what I'd do." Kasen breathed annoyed.   
"Perhaps." Cyrus playfully chirped, smirking as he took a few drinks of the water. "Though this mission does seem quite straightforward." Cyrus said thoughtfully, watching Kasen pull out two black military bags from the closet laying them out on the foot of the bed. The two bags were pre-packed and only needed to be restocked for food and water and any weapon ammunition or tools they would need.   
"I'll take you once you're recovered to check out the guns you need and then we will head out." Kasen said evenly zipping up the bags and dropped next to the door once the food and water had been added. Cyrus slowly shifted to sit so his legs hung off the bed and looked down at the wound almost completely healed up.   
"I'm just going to be a bit sore from all the excitement that's been going on but I'm fine." Cyrus said softly getting to his feet. "I've had much worse." He sighed, pulling Kasen's knife from the sheath sewn into the side of his black military pants at the thigh holding it out to him. Kasen paused looking down at the knife and frowned in thought as he took Cyrus's left wrist looking over the faint scar before dropping Cyrus's arm giving him a serious stare.   
"You can hold onto it for now but you better use it responsibly." Kasen ordered before turning away to grab his bag and lopped it across his chest. "Get up, let's go." Keasen snapped opening the door and heading down the stairs. Cyrus slid the knife away and tossed on his bag and shut the door jogging down the stairs to catch up. Kasen looked to Cyrus once he joined his side unsure if Cyrus should be aware of where they keep the weapons. "I changed my mind." Kasen said calmly, pointing to a gate down the road from them to the right. "I want you to go wait there. I'll be back with what's needed. What sniper do you use and hand gun?" Watching the confused expression Cyrus gave him for a moment following his point to the gate and then met Kasen's pale green eyes.  
"I'll do a springfield xdm elite 9mm or something close to it. And for the sniper either a chukavin or dragunov sniper, preferably the chukavin but I'm aware these are both Russian snipers and we are here in the U.S. so either one will do. Make sure it has a good scope, schmidt & bender is a nice one or nightforce optic will do. I also like everything to be in black." Cyrus said quickly, watching the annoyed look on Kasen's face as he pulled out his phone quickly typed it all in so he wouldn't forget.   
"Anything else you want to be picky about?" Kasen sighed deeply as Cyrus grinned, shaking his head no as he waved at Kasen as he headed off towards the gate.   
Cyrus leaned up against the building next to the gate, the cool brick wall felt nice from the evening warm breeze. He raised his ebony eyes to gaze up at the pink, orange and lavender sky taking in the beauty of it with a small pleasant smile.   
"Where is your captain?" The voice of a man taunted as Cyrus slowly lowered his head looking to the familiar face of the man from the obstacle course. Cyrus rolled his eyes slightly as he sighed tucking his thumbs into his front pockets.  
"My Captain is on his way any minute now." Cyrus responded evenly giving the man a polite smile as the man slowly stalked up to stand inches away from him. "Sir... if you don't give me some room and stop staring at me, I'll report you for sexual harassment." Cyrus said softly blinking up at the man innocently. "I understand I'm quite attractive but you really should understand I'm not interested." Cyrus said smoothly watching the way the man's face twisted his cheeks flushing.  
"W-why you-" The man said his hands clenched into fists. "You want to play around with me? Then let's have some fun." The man growled, grabbing the front of Cyrus's jacket as he tossed Cyrus to the ground. Cyrus shifted to his elbows as soon as he hit the ground about to get back up before someone suddenly kicked him in the arm sending him back down as he blinked up at the group finally arriving.   
"Backup all because of me?" Cyrus said playfully and was cut off from saying anything more as one of the men grabbed him by his hair dragging him up to his feet.   
"I told you I'd keep an eye on you. Shouldn't have left your Captain's side. Now let's find out what you are." The leader of the group said pulling out his knife, making Cyrus pause when he saw the glint of the blade and the two men held either one of his arms and the man behind him kept hold of his hair and another hand on the back of his neck. The leader confidently walked forward pressing the blade to Cyrus's neck.   
"Any other cocky things you want to say?" The leader hissed watching Cyrus smirk slightly.   
"You watched me do the obstacle course and then what? Decided yeah I'm going to mess with that guy. The very capable one on the elite team of this base. How does that make any sense to you?" Cyrus questioned evenly giving the man a cold stare.   
"I watched you do the obstacle course yes, but not as one of the soldiers here." The leader said darkly, pressing the knife into Cyrus's neck more. "Is your Captain in on it too? Is he helping you spy? You really think we wouldn't notice someone out of place?" The leader questioned as Cyrus frowned in thought. "No response? Is it because I'm right and you have no excuse now?" The leader taunted pressing the knife in more till a steam of blood ran down Cyrus's neck.   
"A Russian spy? Are you serious right now? Have you ever gone to Russia on an espionage mission? Of course not. Well I have, and I practice their methods so I don't stand out. So why the hell do I need to justify myself to you when I've done more for this country then you have." Cyrus snapped, glaring at the man and he could feel the two men holding his arms hesitate as they eased up on the hold.   
"John, maybe we should have just reported him... we will be in so much trouble if we are wrong." The man at Cyrus's left said to the leader.   
"Wouldn't that have been wise John, then Director Ravencroft can put you in your place for being disrespectful." Cyrus hissed watching how their faces all dropped at the mention of the Director. Slowly they let go of Cyrus slowly backing away except for John who glared down Cyrus the knife still at his throat.   
"I will look into this, you better sleep with one eye open." John spat at Cyrus who only laughed slightly and rolled his eyes.  
"Oh I'm so afraid of your threat. Come back when you're actually able to intimate me." Cyrus said smoothly as John removed the blade from Cyrus's neck stomping off to catch up with his group. Cyrus stood there for a moment watching them walk away and lightly wiped away the blood from his neck as the wound healed. "Fuck sake." Cyrus breathed under his breath before fixing his hair so it wouldn't look so messy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and you continued support! Hope you enjoyed, feel free to leave a comment of thoughts or questions. More chapters very soon!


	5. Chapter Five

Kasen had collected the weapons and was almost back to Cyrus when he saw the group from before holding Cyrus in place. He could tell they were talking and Cyrus stood calm as Kasen noticed the blade to his throat. He stood back for a few moments watching closely expecting Cyrus to suddenly fight them off of himself. Though the fight never happened and Kasen watched the group head off defeated and sulking. Kasen wandered over to Cyrus coming to stand behind him and watched as Cyrus glanced over his shoulder and up into Kasen's eyes, a warm smile on his face.  
"Ah! You're back! How did it go? Were you able to get what I asked for?" Cyrus questioned eyeing the sniper case and black bag where the handgun and ammunition would be. Kasen held them out to Cyrus with a deep sigh.   
"Yes. Surprisingly we actually had the equipment you wanted." Kasen said calmly, watching as Cyrus carefully took the case and bag from Kasen.  
"Ah that's wonderful. Thank you." Cyrus beamed at Kasen looking over the SCAR looped under Kasen's arm and a matching black bag for ammunition and the hand gun. "What handgun do you use?" Cyrus curiously asked, as he followed Kasen to a car helping pack their cases and bags onto the back seat as Kasen got into the driver's seat starting up the car and Cyrus into the passengers.   
"A glock 17." Kasen said calmly as he clicked on some music as he began to drive. Cyrus nodded slightly in thought leaning back into the seat glancing over at Kasen studying his face closely. His teeth weren't gritted together Cyrus noticed as his eyes trailed over his jawline before up to his eyes, Kasen had a natural expression on his face and slowly Kasen's pale green eyes flickered to meet Cyrus's.   
"Is there a reason you're staring at me?" Kasen asked, watching Cyrus turn his head away to look out the window.   
"You're a hard to read person. I just wanted to see what mood you're in." Cyrus said softly.  
"A tired one." Kasen sighed, running his fingers up through his hair. "Going to be a much longer day into the next that I wasn't expecting." He breathed as he tapped his fingers slowly to the beat of the music.  
"Is classical rock your usual choice of music?" Cyrus asked, wanting to fill the silence between the songs.  
"For the most part, but I listen to other styles of music too, not just only the oldies." Kasen said softly. Cyrus hummed in thought before yawning slightly and began to nod off. Kasen glanced over to Cyrus now and then once he realized he had drifted asleep, his brows raising slightly unsure if he should be annoyed or let it slide since Cyrus's eyes needed to be well-rested to stare through the scope. After a few turns Cyrus had slump against Kasen's arm letting out a soft mumble in his sleep. Kasen shifted carefully guiding Cyrus's head down onto his lap and glancing to the road now and then hooked a finger through the belt loops on Cyrus's pants pulling his hips so he could comfortably lay on his side. Cyrus's legs folded up right away onto the seat as he let out a little comfortable sigh. Kasen's face flushed slightly looking down at him for a few moments, Cyrus's bangs a mess in his face and his lips parted slightly and Kasen knew it would be a matter of time before he would feel drool. Kasen gently ran his finger along Cyrus's neck where the knife had been feeling out a slight scar and moved his hand to rest on Cyrus's shoulder as he thought over the group. 'Cyrus really talked his way out of that without physical fighting? What did he say to them?' Kasen thought to himself as he drove along till the sun was down and darkness fell. Kasen pulled off down the side road glancing at the map now and then feeling a bit uneasy as the road got a bit bumpy. Cyrus shifted starting to wake up as the car jolted along blinking as he turned his head slightly, his hand lightly squeezing Kasen's thigh before he could even process that's what it was.   
"I'm going to need you to sit up, it's a bit rougher on this road then expected." Kasen said carefully, lifting his arm so Cyrus could sit up. Cyrus quickly sat upright wiping at his face checking to see if he drooled at all embarrassed. He didn't even recall falling asleep or even laying down.   
"I'm sorry." Cyrus said quickly bowing his head slightly before looking up and peered out to the uneven dirt road they were traveling down. Cyrus's brows drew together as he thought he saw the marks of a tank in the road but it was too dark to be sure. "Perhaps we should slow down a bit-" Cyrus said slowly as Kasen's hands gripped the wheel tighter for better control.   
"The last time I've taken this road a few months ago I don't recall it being this rough." Kasen muttered.  
"Have we already crossed over into enemy lines- well you know." Cyrus said quickly his eyes widened as he began to realize what was going on.  
"Yeah why-" Kasen began as there was a loud sound of an explosion and the whole car went rolling and slammed into a tree on its side. Kasen slowly came to his ears ringing and blood ran down from his forehead somewhere. He shifted gritting his teeth in pain before he looked down at his dislocated arm. "Cyrus?" Kasen breathed out trying to get a good look in the darkness to Cyrus hanging a bit, held in place by his seat belt. "Cyrus." Kasen said again, trying to keep his voice steady so he wouldn't panic. Slowly he caught the movement of Cyrus's head shifting slightly.   
"Road has mines-" Cyrus choked out slowly moved his hand to his leg a large shard of glass glinted in the moonlight filtered down from the trees above and Kasen's breath caught as his eyes adjusted more seeing the crumpled car around Cyrus it was a relief if didn't go farther and crush his legs.   
"Yeah..." Kasen sighed, not sure if he should have been angry with the remark or laugh. "You noticed at the perfect time." Kasen said before he popped his arm back into place letting out a pained groan. "We need to grab the gear and get out of the car as fast as possible." Kasen said as he undid his belt, being careful of the broken glass as he shifted to carefully stand as far as he could his face inches from Cyrus's as he shifted his arms under him to hold him. "Go ahead and release the buckle I got you." Kasen said evenly.   
"Is your arm going to be okay?" Cyrus asked as he undid the buckle dropping into Kasen's arms hearing him catch his breath in a bit of pain.   
"I'll be fine." Kasen breathed as he looked down to the shard in Cyrus's thigh. "Will you be able to heal that up or do I need to tie a tourniquet?" Kasen asked carefully.   
"A bit of both. I wont pull it out till we are in a safer place." Cyrus said through gritted teeth trying to work through the pain as his leg was already wet with blood. "We will need to work fast so I don't lose too much blood." Cyrus breathed, pating Kasen's chest lightly for him to put him down. Carefully Kasen lowered Cyrus to his feet avoiding the shard in Cyrus's thigh as he crawled into the back seat pulling the bags onto his back and crawled out through the back windshield dropping the bags just beyond the treeline before heading back keeping low. Cyrus passed the sniper case to Kasen once he got to the back windshield and then the SCAR.   
"We're lucky nothing went flying out." Cyrus whispered double checking they grabbed everything before carefully crawling out of the back windshield and stumbled when he put too much weight on his wounded leg biting into his bottom lip trying to hold back pained noises as he followed Kasen into the forest.   
"Do they put down mines in treed areas?" Kasen asked softly, looking Cyrus over as he limped to his side.  
"No just roads, planting them in a forest would be problematic if a tree naturally went down, or animals setting them off." Cyrus breathed collecting two bags and the sniper case. "Do we keep moving to the planned location? Either way we can't linger here sooner or later they will come check." Cyrus said softly and Kasen nodded.   
"We're almost there, let's get to the site and set up and treat the wound then go from there." Kasen said carefully as he collected the remaining bags and looped the strap to the Scar over his shoulder and hovered his hand behind Cyrus as subtly as he could so he would catch him if he fell. After what felt like walking for hours up steep hills of the forest in the direction they had been driving, Kasen kept glancing at the compass on his watch before directing them deeper into the forest and Kasen sighed when they stepped out into a clearing overlooking a drop off. Cyrus slowly walked close enough to the drop off to look down and paused when he could make out one of his bases in the valley below.   
"Was this clearing created?" Cyrus asked carefully, limping over to Kasen watching him lay out bed rolls and Cyrus dropped the bags carefully to the ground next to Kasen's before sinking down onto one of the bedrolls keeping his leg over the grass so he wouldn't bleed on it.   
"No. We had cervalinced a lot of surrounding areas in the land, in the summer this is a natural meadow. We are actually 6 hours walk or more from the road we had been on." Kasen said carefully watching Cyrus blink at him.   
"I seriously just walked for 6 hours with glass in my leg?" He breathed watching Kasen smirk.  
"Crazy how adrenaline didn't make it feel that long. How does your healing work exactly?" Kasen asked curiously as he knelt down next to Cyrus looking over the wound as he placed a first aid kit next to them opening it up as he pulled out a bandage and began to tightly apply the tourniquet moving fast sense he didn't want to keep blood flow restricted for to long. Cyrus gritted his teeth as he drew slow steady breaths, his eyes closing.   
"Go ahead and pull it out." He breathed as Cyrus jolted as he felt Kasen grip the shard of glass and pull it out of the wound. Kasen froze as blood began to pour out of the wound for a few moments as Cyrus's head rolled slightly almost passing out before the wound began to quickly heal up and Cyrus let out some strained breathing, coughing slightly a few times before regaining composure.   
"I can choose to will an injury to heal, it's hard to explain just focus on that particular spot and it just sorta happens, it really depends on the severity though. If it's life threatening or if my body can't communicate to that area it just sorta acts as a safety response. I can resist it from doing that if needed but only till I lose consciousness. If I heal in short amounts of time for more serious injuries... the side effects start. Bloody noses, my lungs start to act up. So I know I need to be more careful so things don't get worse." Cyrus said calmly. Kasen sat there slowly untying the bandage and began gently cleaning away the blood from his leg and patched up the hole in Cyrus's pant leg as he listened to him.   
"I can physically handle large amounts of pain and multiple injuries. I don't heal as fast as you do but it's similar in a way only mine just happens, you have much more control over how your body responds. Though I'm not sure of what side effects personally I'd have, many in the program have died in service and we are grown in a lab so there aren't many of us." Kasen said softly.  
"Grown in a lab?" Cyrus echoed blinking up at Kasen taken aback. "My mother was given injections when pregnant with me that caused the abilities I have. The rest they have tried on living people but instead it makes all their organs fail as you saw. I'm the only one still living." Cyrus said sitting in silence with Kasen for a few moments.  
"There used to be more on my team..." Kasen began trailing off as Cyrus blinked into Kasen's troubled gaze.   
"You only need to share if you're comfortable." Cyrus said softly, gently resting his hand over Kasen's that was resting on his leg. Kasen nodded slightly lowering his eyes to Cyrus's hand on his. Cyrus's touch was warm and soft and comforting.  
"I got the scars on my face a few years ago... on the front lines running into explosions trying to rescue my teammate... Gale. His leg had been blown off up to his thigh... so much blood trailing on the ground as he tried to crawl to cover." Kasen breathed closing his eyes as he drew a shaky breath. "I ran out into that hell, I didn't care if I died trying to save him. When I got to him I grabbed him and as I started to run dragging him trying to lift him to my shoulders... another landmine went off..." Kasen breathed as he swallowed hard trying to force away the swell of emotions he was feeling building in his chest. "There was hardly anything left of him...and I went down. When my vision stopped blurring and my ears processed the ringing blood was all I could see and darkness out of my left eye, blood pouring down my face. I managed to get to my feet and get back to hold down the trenches. We never recovered his remains... I've lost many lives... of those following my orders but none like that. I gave the call to attack through that area... never expected there to be mines, I should have taken the time for it to be checked by drones but I was reckless back then." Kasen breathed, growing silent as he lived in that moment reliving the chaos. Cyrus sat there slowly taking Kasen's hand in his, lacing his fingers carefully through his before gently rubbing his thumb back and forth.   
"I'm sorry..." Cyrus whispered at a loss for what to say. The whole story made him freeze up, being able to piece it together from his time on the front and seeing the horrors that were possible. "I can't imagine how horrible that would be to live through... you tried your best during that situation with the skills and knowledge you had at the time. Please don't feel any blame for the choices made." Cyrus said softly, lifting his gaze up to Kasen's face, seeing his eyes closed tightly as tears ran down his face. Cyrus slowly reached out and pulled Kasen to him into a hug, gasping as he wasn't supporting himself to hold up Kasen against him and fell onto his back keeping his arms around Kasen gently rubbing his back and slid his fingers up and gently rubbed his fingers against the shaved hair on the back of Kasen's head. Kasen let out a soft hum as he shifted slowly hugging Cyrus back pressing his face into Cyrus's neck.  
"I hate crying... makes me feel weak." Kasen breathed and Cyrus frowned slightly as he continued to massage Kasen's scalp gently.  
"There is nothing wrong with feeling emotions and expressing them. It doesn't make you weak... it makes you strong, especially to share it with someone." Cyrus whispered and he could feel Kasen hug him a bit tighter.  
"I should hate you... why do I not hate you?" Kasen breathed before lifting his tear streaked face to press his forehead to Cyrus's gazing into his eyes. Cyrus met Kasen's intense gaze speechless for a moment.  
"I... honestly don't know? I find myself rather unlikable." Cyrus said with a slight chuckle but his eyes held the same sadness. Kasen's eyes slowly lowered to Cyrus's lips watching the way he smiled.   
"Do you really hate yourself that much?" Kasen breathed watching the smile fall and Cyrus's brows drew together as Kasen raised his eyes to Cyrus's unsure expression.  
"You'd need to buy me a drink first before we get into any of my personal shit." Cyrus said lightly smirking but Kasen was starting to be able to read Cyrus better, especially the way he would hide behind a smile when his eyes tended to say much more. "Are you okay? I don't think we have ever been this close or had a real conversation." Cyrus asked carefully not really wanting Kasen to get up off of him but was worried he could have a concussion.   
"Yeah... I'm fine. When the car rolled and you had blacked out for a few moments I- I was worried I had lost you and it's been a long time since I've felt that sort of panic." Kasen breathed slowly moving off of Cyrus and laid next to him.   
"So that's why you explained to me your scars?" Cyrus said gently watching Kasen nod slightly. "Aw so you really do care about me. I'm surprised I've grown on you so fast." Cyrus teased watching Kasen's ears redden slightly.   
"In your dreams." Kasen sighed but a slight smile played at the edge of his lips. Cyrus carefully turned to his side, snuggling his nose into Kasen's arm.   
"Can we lay here for a few hours before we do the mission?" Cyrus breathed as he closed his eyes.  
"Just an hour, then we get to work." Kasen said softly, looking over Cyrus cautiously wondering if he should have checked him for any head injuries before allowing him to snooze off. Kasen laid there looking up at the stars above them feeling oddly at rest. He never openly talked about that day with anyone and yet he just told his enemy about it. Something he found even more troubling was he allowed Cyrus to comfort him and the mixed emotions he had towards him as well. Kasen looked down to Cyrus cuddling his arm, one of his legs shifting to bend at 90° across one of Kasen's legs as he got even more comfortable. Being this close Kasen studied Cyrus's face, from ever so faint freckles on his nose to his cupid's bow on his lips. Cyrus had softer features but still had nice cheekbones and angled face in a way that complimented his less strong jaw line. Kasen found himself already running his fingers into Cyrus's thick bangs not wanting to snag his fingers on Cyrus's messy hair pulled back in a bun and paused to take the long strand of hair he always left out on either side of his face to gently rub it between his fingers and slowly lifted it to his nose hesitating if the sort of thing he was doing would be creepy or not. He sniffed it slightly and paused unsure if it would even retain any of its usual smells after Cyrus had water dumped on him, sweat and bled and activity went through an explosion but there was a faint fresh green tea scent lingering and sandalwood that made Kasen take one more smell of. He didn't recall if Cyrus's room smiled of this as well or if it was just what he washed his hair with but he found it very pleasant. He slowly let the hair slip through his fingers before letting out a soft sigh as he glanced at his watch. Just a few more minutes till he needed to wake Cyrus. Kasen carefully slipped out of Cyrus's hold as he knelt down next to the bags and unzipped them as he pulled out the radio and com set for him and Cyrus getting them all set up and slipped in one ear piece and flinched as Freya's voice loudly came in.  
"What the fuck took you so long! Lost signal to the car, 5 hours late to check-in! I thought you may have been dead!" Freya yelled as the sound of her hands slamming on a table could be heard.   
"Please stop yelling, my head hurts." Kasen sighed softly as he rubbed at the bridge of his nose.   
"The Director is sitting here with me, are you going to explain what the hell took you so long?" Freya demanded with a huff. Kasen frowned as he paused slightly before drawing a deep breath.  
"Car hit a mine. Didn't lose any equipment. Had to walk the rest of the way to the camp." Kasen evenly replied, hearing silence for a bit.   
"Are you injured? What about Cyrus?" Freya breathed concerned, as she waited silently for Kasen's reply.  
"Just a bit...got rather lucky." Kasen said calmly as his eyes shifted over to Cyrus as he stirred starting to wake up. "Cyrus's side of the car took the impact so he was hurt worse than me but he heals fast." Kasen sighed as he began to get the guns set up and set up the bags so they could easily reach in to grab what they needed or zip up the bags and run.   
"I see... when you're ready to be picked up we will have to work out a location then." Freya sighed frowning as paper ruffled as she looked over a map of the area. Kasen hummed in agreement as Cyrus sat up stretching slightly before their eyes met and Kasen gestured to the earpiece as he tossed the other set to Cyrus watching him carefully put them in.   
"Really you will want to turn my side off, for when I shoot." Cyrus sighed as he popped open the sniper case and began to put it together as he got all set up laying out. Freya chuckled slightly in response and Kasen rolled his eyes.   
"What took you so long to get on the coms?" Freya asked curiously with a smile.  
"I was helping Kasen get open one of the bags, a zipper got stuck and he looked like he was ready to toss the bag off the cliff." Cyrus said, smoothly winking at Kasen and Freya broke out laughing.  
"Oh whatever." Kasen sighed as he lifted the binoculars looking through them to the base. "This is a rather small base... not much coming and going like the other ones we have seen." Kasen sighed as he glanced to Cyrus who was gazing intensely through the scope unmoving for quite some time.   
"Looks like it's not a fully functioning base..." Cyrus trailed off as his eyes narrowed slightly and Kasen shifted to look towards the spot Cyrus was focused on and noticed a group of people dressed in lab coats walking from one building and into the main large one of the base.  
"What do you mean?" Freya questioned as she began to take notes.  
"There are barley and soldiers." Kasen said softly, his brows drawn together.  
"And way too many scientists." Cyrus breathed gritting his teeth as he tensed up.   
"What does that mean?" Freya questioned confused as she folded her arms leaning back in her chair with a sigh.  
"Something is going on here that shouldn't be." Cyrus said evenly glaring at the building the people went into. "I wonder if we can pick up on any radio transmissions." Cyrus said after a pause and Freya's breath caught as she heard Kasen hum in agreement and the sound of a radio being switched came through.  
"Do you even know how to get onto the line? It seems to always be changing." Kasen asked skeptically, looking over Cyrus as he punched in numbers.  
"Of course I do. I wouldn't offer if I didn't know it." Cyrus breathed focused on what he was doing and suddenly Russian voices began to come through relaying coded messages. Kasen watched the way Cyrus's head tilted slightly listening.  
"How do you know the code?" Freya asked softly as she glanced to the Director's calm and composed sitting position as he listened.   
Kasen tensed as he searched for an answer looking to Cyrus unsure their eyes meeting. Cyrus looked back through the scope and raised his head slightly looking over the top of his scope at the base as he went incredibly still.   
"Put down the binoculars and move down the hill to cover." Cyrus suddenly breathed and Kasen shifted carefully as he kept low as he did what Cyrus instructed, looking over to Cyrus from where they laid out the bed rolls.   
"What did you see?" Kasen asked watching the way Cyrus slowly moved back into scoped position moving his hand ever so slowly as he began to line up a shot. "Cyrus?" Kasen softly questioned.   
"The radio talk has become more drawn out." Freya said carefully as she listened to long breaks in the talking and Kasen started to feel unsettled. Cyrus's breathing was almost so still he looked like he was a statue wishing he could see better what was going on.   
"Do you think you've been compromised?" Freya asked, just Cyrus's scope shattered. Cyrus had already pulled his face away and down into the grass as Kasen's eyes widened trying to process what just happened. Cyrus was quickly yanking off the broken scope tossing it to the side as he lifted up slightly taking aim as his breathing caught and fired. The soft pop of the suppressor echoed around them.   
"Fucking hell-" Kasen began as Cyrus suddenly stood up.  
"Now we leave." Cyrus said evenly as he zipped the bags tossing the sniper across his back as he began to run towards the trees and Kasen quickly did the same but they were a few feet from the treeline when a group of 10 men stepped out guns trained on them.  
"Drop your weapons and get on the ground!" One of the men yelled in Russian as Kasen froze his hand resting on the SCAR and let the bag drop to the ground. Cyrus began to do the same, letting the bag drop his hand at his thigh as Kasen caught from the corner of his eye Cyrus pulling the tactical knife out smoothly. Within seconds the knife was hilt deep into one of their necks and Cyrus ran in a blur pulling it out of the man's neck and turning as he slashed open the next soldier's neck as he lifted his sniper with one hand shooting it close range into a different person's head. In one swift motion Cyrus let the sniper swing back around to his back as he pulled his pistol shooting down 3 more within moments before leaving the 4 remaining soldiers frozen in horror as Cyrus threw the knife into another as Kasen quickly jumped into action shooting down the last 3 with the SCAR.   
"Not as stealthy as I would have liked." Cyrus breathed as he pulled out the knife as Kasen scooped up their bags taking off running with Cyrus into the forest.   
"Couldn't let you do all the work, makes me look bad." Kasen breathed still a bit stunned at how fast and effective Cyrus had just been in that attack. Kasen was feeling quite aware he had been underestimating Cyrus's capacities.   
"You two are doing a bad job as keeping me informed all I hear is fighting." Freya snapped as she glanced to the Director Ravencroft, his face looking serious as he had his fingers tightly laced together in thought.   
"Sniper was on the roof, they must have been searching the area because of the mine. Only explanation to them getting up here so quickly." Cyrus sharply responded as they ran. Kasen grabbed Cyrus's hand as he pulled him off to run in a different direction as they fell into pace together.   
Freya ran her hands over her face hating feeling useless sitting in the office with the Director.   
"I have a crazy idea." Cyrus suddenly gasped glancing at Kasen, who gave a tired sigh.   
"And what may that be?" Kasen questioned eyeing Cyrus. Cyrus pointed up ahead at a collection of fallen trees, stacked out of the way in a small clearing and Kasen frowned slightly.   
"Fine." Kasen breathed as they raced to the trees and Cyrus tossed the bags in and took off his sniper crawling into the tight space and Kasen followed having to crawl over Cyrus till they were pressed together out of sight breathing heavily in silence till they laid there still and Cyrus shifted, lightly wrapping his arms around Kasen so he could get more comfortable. Kasen turned the coms down as low as they could go while still being able to hear Freya.  
"So what's happening now? You both suddenly went silent?" Freya questioned shifting a bit unsure.   
"Hiding till they give up searching." Cyrus breathed as he slowly raised his eyes, meeting Kasen's inches away and his nose brushing lightly against his as Cyrus glanced down making sure Kasen's feet were about a foot in and well hidden in the darkness.   
"Stop shifting about." Kasen whispered, snapping Cyrus's attention back to him.  
"Sorry." Cyrus sighed as he laid there still. Cyrus laid there losing track of how much time had passed as he rested his forehead against Kasen's chest. Freya had gone quite on her end as she rested her head on the table waiting. Kasen shifted slightly so he could flip the switch, turning off their com microphones as silently as possible before his hand took Cyrus by the jaw and lifted his chin carefully so their noses brushed again.   
"I can't stand this anymore." Kasen mumbled and Cyrus paused his face flushing as he could feel Kasen's breath against his lips.   
"I'm sorry-" Cyrus began softly before Kasen pressed his lips roughly against Cyrus's. Cyrus's breath caught for a moment in shock before he began to kiss Kasen back moving his hands up to run through Kasen's hair. Kasen lightly bit at Cyrus's bottom lip before his lips merged back with Cyrus's and his hands moved down to Cyrus's hips yanking him tightly against him hearing a soft gasp slip from Cyrus's lips between kisses. Cyrus had kissed a few people over the year but no one's mouth ever fit perfectly against his own the way Kasen's did, it was enough to take his breath away and his heart skipped a beat. Cyrus had considered if Kasen had some sort of feelings for him but never expected anything to come of it. Just as suddenly as it had started Kasen suddenly pulled away his breathing shaky as he began to focus again.   
"I shouldn't have done that." Kasen breathed softly, his hands shaking as they stayed pressed to Cyrus's hips. "I'm sorry- must be the concussion." Kasen whispered, feeling Cyrus pull his face away a bit more from Kasen's.  
"It's... okay." Cyrus whispered as he felt his heart drop. "We have been awake for over 24 hours." Cyrus whispered nodding to some sun just barely passing through cracks in the fallen trees around them avoiding meeting Kasen's eyes as he swallowed rather hard trying to not think about what just happened. Kasen slowly nodded glancing up at the sliver of light.   
"Still I should have been more professional..." Kasen breathed closing his eyes as they laid there in silence for quite some time.   
Cyrus must have started to drift asleep when he heard the sound of twigs breaking under foot fall and nudged Kasen pressing a finger to his lips as they listened, getting tense as the footfall grew closer till there was what sounded to be a large group right outside their hiding place. Cyrus tightly gripped the front of Kasen's vest as he laid there frozen his breath holding as he heard someone speak in Russian a few feet away.   
"They couldn't have gotten far on foot. Keep looking." A man ordered making Cyrus's brows draw together as he recognized the voice and his face paled.   
"Captain you've been shot why don't you head back and rest?" One of the other soldiers questioned.  
"Because Cyrus must have been the sniper on the cliff, who else pulls off a no scope from that far away and still makes the shot?!" The man yelled making Cyrus flinch slightly pressing closer to Kasen. "Find that bitch, I want him alive." The man snapped as the surrounding soldiers began to continue on searching. Cyrus laid there silently his brows drawing together trying to listen for any more footfall and pressed his hand over Kasen's mouth worried about him going to whisper. "Cyrus?" The captain called out in a sing-song voice so it would echo just enough. "I know you much too well. Kenzo sent me out personally to search for you. Question is, why are you hiding from your own people?" The man said laughing darkly. Cyrus sucked in a slow breath, breathing as softly as possible his hands shaking slightly. Cyrus slowly opened his eyes to meet Kasen's.   
'Don't move.' He mouthed and Kasen gave Cyrus an annoyed look.  
'I know.' Kasen mouthed back. 'Who is that?' Kasen mouthed hoping Cyrus could read his lips well enough. Cyrus pulled Kasen so his lips brushed against his ear when he whispered.  
"Ayato, so trouble." Cyrus whispered softly into Kasen's ear. Before letting go. 'Stay, no matter what.' Cyrus mouthed seriously and Kasen frowned slightly but nodded.   
A hand suddenly reached into the crawl space and Cyrus's eyes widened as Ayato was just about to grab Kasen's ankle and he quickly moved his own in the way. Cyrus was dragged out within moments leaving Kasen tucking his legs up closer gritting his teeth that he didn't hold onto Cyrus.   
Cyrus blinked up into the sunlight filtering through the leaves above and Ayato smirked at Cyrus from his position standing over him. Ayato looked the same as Cyrus saw him last, his shoulder length brown hair half pulled back and his dark brown eyes locked on Cyrus. Dressed in grey tee and black military pants.   
"There you are love. Miss me?" Ayato purred as he grabbed Cyrus by the front of his vest pulling him to his feet only to swing a punch right into Cyrus's jaw sending him back to the ground. Cyrus let out a pained grunt as he struggled to adjust his jaw aching as he got back to his feet.   
"Thought I finally got free of your hideous face." Cyrus sighed, pulling the tactical knife and flipped it in his hand watching Ayato watch him closely.   
"Where have you been?" Ayato questioned, his eyes narrowed as he looked over Cyrus's clothing and the missing patches.   
"Vacation." Cyrus said smoothly as they slowly began to circle each other. "I think I deserve one now and then." Cyrus sighed with a smirk before taking a quick step towards Ayato watching him take a sharp step back as Ayato pulled his handgun from his belt.   
"You can either come willingly or I'll shoot you till you are begging me to spare you and drag you back to Kenzo. Your choice." Ayato sneered as he took aim.   
"I'm still on vacation so not interested in seeing something as unpleasant as Kenzo." Cyrus hissed with a dark smile. "You better start shooting, you know I only beg you in your dreams." He said smoothly as he rushed Ayato dodging the first two shots as he closed the space stabbing the knife quickly into Ayato's side before rolling behind him and cutting into his thigh watching the blood come running down his leg and Ayato drop to a knee. Cyrus kicked the gun out of Ayato's hand and the sound of his bones breaking echoed before the gun landed a few yards away.  
"Kenzo has a message for you." Ayato hissed out through clenched teeth trying to hold back crying out in pain.   
"Well I don't want to hear it." Cyrus breathed leaning in close to Ayato's face glaring at him. "Next time you plan on 'dragging me back to Kenzo' come better prepared. You're much too easy." Cyrus sneered as he slammed the hilt of the knife into Ayato's temple watching his eyes roll back as he collapsed to the ground, passed out. Cyrus quickly searched Ayato's pockets, yanking out some keys.   
"Time to go." Cyrus called over to Kasen who quickly crawled out with the bags tossing the sniper to Cyrus watching him catch it with ease. Kasen eyes swept over the man on the ground wondering what the hell just happened as he quickly jogged to catch up with Cyrus who had begun to run off. As soon as they broke through the forest and out onto a road Cyrus was already seated on a motorcycle starting it up. Kasen threw himself onto the back seat holding on as Cyrus sped off, glancing over their shoulders as the other vehicles faded into the distance.  
"You didn't get whatever message Kenzo had for you?" Kasen asked carefully.  
"Of course not. It's most likely just something to fuck with my head and stress me out." Cyrus sighed frowning.   
"You could have gone back easily, and had me arrested." Kasen sighed in thought.   
"Could have. But I'm not interested in that sort of thing." Cyrus coldly said his troubled gaze focused on the road ahead. Kasen shook his head slightly confused, he had a hard time understanding how Cyrus thought when he said things like that. "I could go back but once I do I'd be looking over my shoulder and playing mind games with that insane man." Cyrus said bitterly, his grip tightening till his knuckles were white.   
"I... have your back." Kasen said after a long pause.  
"That is literally impossible. You have said it yourself that you want to hate me. You are professional. Having my back puts you in a very difficult position with how you live your life." Cyrus said evenly, pressing his lips together not wanting to feel tears threaten to fill his eyes when he thought of the kiss.   
"I've already gone this far... a bit farther won't change anything. Besides, the Director is already suspicious that for some reason you're the first person to ever make me stray from the solid box I keep myself in." Kasen said softly.  
"What do you mean?" Cyrus questioned, wishing he could turn around and see Kasen's face as they talked about this.  
"I walked into the meeting and told the Director to call off torturing you. I had just found off Doctor Smith had taken you for some vague experiment and had to do something about it." Kasen breathed making Cyrus swerve ever so slightly.  
"Did I just hear you right?" Cyrus breathed shocked. "W-why?" He stammered.  
"I knew you were cooperating from the start. The more I watched or was told to help I started to feel... conflicting emotions till I couldn't handle it any more. I felt so much regret and I knew I didn't want to anymore. The choices I've made with you at my side, I haven't regretted once." Kasen said softly resting his forehead to the back of Cyrus's neck. Cyrus drove on for quite some time in stunned silence.  
"They probably think I'm bribing you or tricked you or something." Cyrus breathed trying to wrap his head around Kasen's barging in on a meeting with a ton of Directors and demanding that the prisoner of war stop being tortured. 'Such an insane thing to do.' Cyrus thought to himself.  
"I honestly don't deserve any help you've given me or any kindness, trust, just everything you have done for me." Cyrus whispered and he felt Kasen move his hands to rest on his hips.   
"Perhaps to some people... I saw what your life looked like back in your room and the person Kenzo is. Some would think I pity you but that's not the case. I've debated over the emotions I was feeling for much longer than I'd like to admit but I feel empathy and even sympathy. Makes me want to instinctively protect you because I see you for who you are independently from orders given to you that you had to follow. If that makes me a terrible person or a traitor then I suppose that's what I am." Kasen sighed.  
"What it makes you is human... and a good person. I have no idea how you're able to look past all that." Cyrus breathed.   
"I'll struggle... I'm going to have days where I think of the attack. I just need to remind myself that the hate I feel is to the one that gave the orders." Kasen said evenly. "It's like... thinking of your enemy, obsessing over them and then suddenly it's like seeing the world new in their shoes. Just a person much like yourself dealing with struggles of their own trying to just survive much the same as you are." Kasen said softly.   
"Fair enough." Cyrus said thoughtfully even though he personally could never lift the weight on his shoulders for following that order.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed! Feel free to leave comments below to let me know your thoughts or questions.


	6. Chapter Six

As they approached the base Cyrus felt Kasen's hands slip from his waist and shift to sit up straight from his leaned position on his back.   
"You don't need to accompany me for the report. Go ahead and clean up and get some rest." Kasen said calmly once they had gotten off the bike, tossing the keys to his place to Cyrus. Cyrus slowly trailed his eyes over Kasen thoughtfully before turning and heading off to Kasen's building with a wave.  
"See you in a few." Cyrus called over his shoulder with a slight smile across his tired face.  
Kasen sighed watching Cyrus walk away and ran his fingers up through his messy hair.   
"Why did I say all that?" He muttered under his breath before briskly heading off to find Director Ravencroft.  
Cyrus carefully unlocked the door walking inside and paused as he could smell freshly brewed coffee and the lights were on. The Director sat calmly at Kasen's desk looking Cyrus over as he entered.   
"Kasen is heading to your office... you should call him to let him know you're here." Cyrus said softly eyeing the Director who seemed to be picking him apart with his eyes.  
"What all happened once the microphones went off?" The Director asked smoothly, his eyes narrowing slightly.  
"I'm sure Kasen would give a much more detailed report then I would, and I know you don't trust me." Cyrus said calmly as he stood hovering by the bed not wanting to get any closer.  
"Yet here I am, asking for you to tell me. Do I need to punish you for not answering me the first time?" The Director asked standing abruptly and slowly approached Cyrus looking down at him. Cyrus slowly lowered his head slightly, his eyes gazing down at the floor.   
"After we were suddenly attacked, we took off running. I spotted a collection of fallen trees with a crawl space, the two of us took cover there sense we knew that we couldn't out run them. Waited a long time, they had search parties scanning the forest. Someone I rather dislike guessed that I was the one the shot back when we first went under fire. When that person reached in to pull out anyone that could be hiding in the crawl space I let myself be grabbed instead of Kasen. Fought them off and stole the motorcycle that person had used to get to that area of the forest and now back here." Cyrus sighed, feeling rather sure he covered all the important things.   
"And what did this person say when they saw you, I take it you knew them rather well?" The Director asked, his arms folding across his chest.   
"That I was on a vacation and that's why I haven't come back to the base." Cyrus replied, shrugging slightly. "Not like it's believable but it's something that would cause a lot of whispers about. The Director sighed with a frown eyeing Cyrus.   
"If it's clear you're willing to kill your own then returning back is becoming rather impossible for you." The Director said evenly pulling out a cigar as he lit it and drew a deep pull breathing the smoke out slowly thinking. "The only possible step that could be taken to insure this plan of yours to work is for you to return and take Kasen along as backup and kill Kenzo." The Director said seriously watching Cyrus stare at him confused.  
"Why are you helping me?" Cyrus questioned carefully watching the Director smirk.  
"Who said I'm helping you? I agree Kenzo should be removed, he makes things rather difficult for us with how power-hungry he makes orders. A more level headed person on the other side would change the whole pace of this war, or perhaps lead to more peaceful options. Having someone such as yourself handle the killing looks much better for all involved...besides I do know about you and your reputation." The Director said calmly as Cyrus looked away biting at his lip in thought.   
"My reputation?" Cyrus echoed glancing to the Director out of the corner of his eye. "So when are we to head out? And I'll need my patches back." Cyrus said, evenly locking his gaze onto the Director's who smirked at Cyrus.  
"That you talk big about ending the war and other interesting things." The Director said smoothly. "Tomorrow afternoon. If anything happens to Kasen I will personally insure the full destruction of everything in the area of that home base of yours." The Director said darkly watching Cyrus nod his head a few times.   
"I understand. It may take some time to work out all the steps till I can kill Kenzo. Is that something you can handle with Kasen being gone for so long? Do you already have an excuse lined up?" Cyrus questioned tilting his head slightly as he kept his eyes locked with the Director's.  
"Those are things for me to handle and you to just follow as told. If it takes time so be it. Only thing that matters is you don't try to get out of this agreement we have just by being back on your base." The Director said coldly with a dark smile, as he pulled the patches from his pocket and tucked them into Cyrus's jacket pocket. "By the way Cyrus, how professional are you?" The Director asked the smile still in place. Cyrus frowned, giving an annoyed look at the Director.   
"What do you mean by that?" Cyrus questioned defensively.  
"I mean by if you sleep in Kasen's bed, where does he sleep? Do you get involved with those you work with?" The Director asked smoothly.  
Cyrus right away wanted to answer no but in the past his last ex had been someone he used to have on his team and Cyrus felt as if his cheeks were burning.   
"First off, if someone asked you if you're fucking your subordinates then you'd be pissed. Second, do you seriously take Kasen for someone that would be intimate? Let alone get close to someone who is an enemy?" Cyrus huffed glaring at the Director, hating how the look of amusement was on his face.   
"You haven't denied that you, yourself wouldn't." The Director said smoothly folding his hands calmly behind his back.  
"I don't sleep around. And I don't put myself in dangerous situations such as I don't know bedding an enemy that could try to use me just for information." Cyrus snapped feeling his heart race with how shaken up he was getting.   
"So you say." The Director breathed with a slight chuckle making Cyrus clench his hands into fists. The door swung open right as Cyrus was about to open his mouth to say more and paused looking to Kasen who stepped inside confused.   
"I was expecting you at your office, why are you here?" Kasen carefully asked, looking over the calm expression on the Director's face and Cyrus's pissed expression with reddened cheeks.   
"I had some questions for Cyrus. I didn't think you would allow him to walk about alone." The Director said calmly watching the way Kasen frowned slightly and shifting his weight.   
"Not like I didn't watch until he entered the building. If I control him too tightly then we wouldn't be able to work together as well." Kasen said calmly, thankful he thought ahead once he found out the Director wasn't in his office. The Director nodded slightly, lifting a mug of coffee from the desk and taking a drink.   
"I'll hear your report now picking up from when the coms went down." The Director calmly said as he took another sip watching Kasen from over the rim, noticing how Kasen didn't correct him.  
"By the time we took a sniper shot from the enemy base a large group of enemy soldiers had flanked us and from the back, we had been extremely careful but they must have already known of the outlook point. We both cleared out the enemy group and then began to run through the forest in hopes it would be harder to track which direction we had gone off in. Cyrus pointed out some natural cover to take, a collection of fallen trees with a good sized crawl space. Once hidden I was worried of any possibility of any jammers being put down and to insure no feedback I turned off the microphone. After half a day or so holding out a search team came through the area. The captain of it sent the other soldiers up ahead, predicting that our hiding spot Cyrus would choose and was correct. Cyrus was pulled out and fought the man, I was asked to stay hidden in case the soldiers came back. We had gotten lucky that he had a set of motorcycle keys on him that he had used to get to that area of the forest. Cyrus led us in the direction they had approached from where we then found vehicles and the motorcycle and then we headed back here." Kasen said calmly watching the Director stand there silently listening and placed the mug down on the table.  
"Tomorrow afternoon Cyrus and you are to head off to Russia. Due to Cyrus's rank and knowledge of the base and situation you are to follow his lead. If you feel at any time Cyrus has compromised you, kill him and return back. The mission is to take out Kenzo." The Director said calmly before crossing the room pausing to place a hand on Kasen's shoulder.   
"Don't let me down." The Director said softly, whispering into Kasen's ear before heading out. As soon as the door shut Cyrus let out a deep sigh walking to the bathroom as he clicked on the shower.   
"Come on sexy, let's just get cleaned up so we can rest. Tomorrow is going to be even worse than everything we've been through so far." Cyrus groaned as he began to peel off his bloody and dirty clothes quickly climbing into the shower sighly happily at the comfort of the hot water.   
"You want to share the shower?" Kasen echoed confused as he stood in the doorway keeping his eyes averted from the shower.  
"Is there a problem? You don't have to, just an optional offer." Cyrus said calmly as he began to wash his long hair. Kasen collected Cyrus's dirty clothes tossing them into his washer before stripping down to his underwear and starting it up before heading back to the bathroom pausing a bit unsure as his eyes shifted to glance at Cyrus's blurry form through the fogged up glass.   
"You should put on some music." Cyrus said calmly, a smile coming through in his voice.   
"F-fine." Kasen said quickly heading over to his desk plugging his phone into the speakers and turned up his music so it could be heard over the shower and walked briskly back tossing aside his underwear and entered the shower his eyes going to Cyrus's face right away. Cyrus's eyes were closed as water ran down his head and beaded on his eyelashes, his thick hair plastered down his neck and around his shoulders stopping at the bottom of his shoulder blades. Kasen pressed his hands to his face feeling warmth radiate off his cheeks as his eyes slowly lowered trailing over Cyrus's thin but muscular arms and torso stopping at his hips as he quickly turned around.   
"Let me know when you want to switch spots." Kasen breathed out nervously. Cyrus casually moved out from under the water running his fingers over his eyes to keep water from getting in them.   
"All yours, I need to put on body wash anyway." Cyrus said calmly, smiling as his eyes swept down Kasen's defined back and lightly poked dimples at Kasen's lower back right above his ass. "Hmm, that's attractive." Cyrus said smoothly as Kasen glanced over his shoulder to Cyrus inches behind him, gazing into Cyrus's deep ebony eyes.   
"Thanks." Kasen whispered out more surprise at himself for suddenly feeling so shy. Kasen carefully moved around so he could stand under the water sucking in his breath at how hot it was. "Damn, my skin is going to burn off." Kasen said shifting under the water trying to adjust as Cyrus chuckled slightly.   
"You'll get used to it soon enough." Cyrus said standing with his back mostly to Kasen as he began to lather on the body wash taking a moment to make sure he liked the smell and sighed softly when the musky smell of old spice and a touch of lavender came through, finding it to be a comforting scent. Kasen bit at his lip trying to keep his eyes raised so he wouldn't be staring at Cyrus. Never before had he ever been more attracted to another man. He had dated a few men and women in the past but he never felt a strong pull to them, Cyrus was much different. Kasen quickly washed his hair and switched spots so Cyrus could wash the soap off. By the time Kasen stepped back under to wash off the bodywash he was taken aback as Cyrus climbed out of the shower and began to dry off. Kasen blinked a few times as he stood there confused for a moment.   
"I half expected you to just soak up more of this burning hot water." Kasen said carefully knowing his voice still sounded a bit nervous.  
"Mmn?" Cyrus hummed as he wrapped a towel around his waist and another around his hair. "Why is that?" Cyrus questioned smirking slightly.   
"No reason... never mind." Kasen said quickly turning so he could splash some water on his face, feeling ridiculous for letting his thoughts wander.  
"Do you always let others intimately close to you before you actually know them?" Cyrus questioned playfully as he walked out into Kasen's room pulling on the pajamas he had used a few days ago and tossed the towel from his waist onto the chair before flopping down onto the bed. Kasen didn't have a response to Cyrus frowning slightly in thought at a bit of a loss.   
"Is it possible to get to know you better?" Kasen asked once he was finished with the shower, walking into the room with the towel around his waist. Cyrus slowly rolled onto his side so he could better look at Kasen.   
"Do you actually want to know me better?" Cyrus asked softly, his expression a bit guarded. Kasen lowered his gaze from Cyrus's as he approached slowly sitting down on the edge of the bed next to him.   
"I wouldn't ask if I didn't." Kasen said softly, looking down to meet Cyrus's eyes. Kasen used to not recognize the signs before, the way Cyrus tensed up slightly, the defensive yet worried look in his eyes, he had walls and most likely for good reasons. But Cyrus's breath had also caught and he bit at his lip softly his cheeks having a light pink to them.   
"I won't hurt you. Or betray you... if we do become closer than intended. Would you be willing to give me a chance?" Kasen asked gently. Cyrus's lips parted slightly speechless as he slowly shifted to sit up the towel unwrapping from his hair flopping to the bed startling him slightly.  
"Ah I'm sorry." Cyrus breathed trying to quickly collect the damp towel from the bed, his damp hair falling down messily framing his face.  
"It's alright." Kasen said calmly, tossing the towel to the floor with a slight shrug. "A bit of moisture won't kill the blankets or the floor." Kasen said, smiling slightly. Cyrus ran his fingers through his hair to get it out of his face.   
"Do you want to put pants of some kind on first before we start talking or is that what you're wearing for the night?" Cyrus asked softly watching Kasen pause for a moment before quickly standing when he realized he was still in just a towel and yanked on a pair of black sweats tossing his towel on top of Cyrus's.   
"You want a drink?" Kasen asked going to the cabinets as he began to search through them and pulled out a 3/4th full bottle of vodka and two shot glasses walking over to Cyrus who carefully took a shot glass watching Kasen pour the shot for him and then one for himself.   
"I won't say no to a drink." Cyrus said smiling shyly as they clinked their shots together and tipped them back in one big gulp. Kasen refilled the shot glasses getting a curious look from Cyrus. "Do you plan on getting me drunk?" He asked with a chuckle and Kasen shook his head quickly.   
"No I just thought I'd refill yours when I refill my own." He said quickly getting a soft laugh from Cyrus and a nudge to his arm.  
"It's fine, I trust you either way I suppose." Cyrus said carefully, shifting to lean against the headboard. Kasen moved around to sit on the other side next to Cyrus.   
"So what do you want to know about me?" Cyrus asked softly looking over Kasen and then down to the vodka bottle between them before back up to Kasen's pale green eyes.  
"So your family, what are they like?" Kasen began hoping that was a good question to start with. Cyrus paused taking the shot and holding the glass out to Kasen watching him pour him another.   
"My sister Luna, she was raised by my mother but she is a free spirited sort of person. Though she absolutely loves technology, she constantly works to improve her skills with it. I pay her for contract work actually." Cyrus said smiling slightly in thought. Kasen took his shot as he listened, watching Cyrus's face light up as he talked about them.  
"Contract work? So what does she specialize in?" Kasen asked curiously.  
"Hacking is her favorite and what she is the best at." Cyrus sighed softly. "I'm no were near as technology efficient as she is, I feel like I must have been born in the wrong time." Cyrus said chuckling slightly and Kasen smiled, his face thoughtful.  
"I'm not that good either, so I think it's okay to have one thing you're not good at." Kasen said gently as Cyrus nodded slightly with a soft sigh.   
"And then there is my mother, she is a really warm and caring person. Very traditional, but not closed minded in any way. She will make sure you've eaten enough food and then some and can't forget the tea." Cyrus chirped leaning his head back. "She used to work in the medical field but now she is retired." Cyrus said softly. Kasen smiled slightly as he refilled the shot glasses and tipped his back.  
"So did you grow up there or?" Kasen asked carefully not wanting to make Cyrus uncomfortable by bringing up Kenzo.  
"I'd stay there for a few weeks every few months as a child. On base the rest of the time. But now that I'm older I can slip away every now and then for a night but with Kenzo making threats I've started to avoid going home." Cyrus said calmly before taking his shot.   
"I know your life is a bit more complicated. Do you have family?" Cyrus asked softly refilling the glasses this time feeling a slight heat in his cheeks from the alcohol.  
"My team is my family, the Director somewhat of a parent I suppose. I actually never thought about having a traditional family would be like till I got older but this is what I have and I'm not unhappy with it." Kasen sighed, shooting back his shot quickly. Cyrus watched how quickly Kasen took the shot and paused trailing his finger along the rim of his own wondering if this was something Kasen struggled with talking about.   
"So what's your favorite movie?" Cyrus asked, giggling slightly as Kasen raised his eyebrows smirking slightly. "Yes I'm going to ask basic questions." Cyrus grinned scooching over to sit closer to Kasen.   
"Hmm... favorite movie?" Kasen echoed thoughtfully slowly moving his arm around Cyrus holding him close. "I really like the Punisher movies, and even the comics and TV series." Kasen said looking into Cyrus's eyes watching them light up.   
"Wow. Of course you do." Cyrus laughed leaning into Kasen happily.   
"What do you mean by that?" Kasen chuckled looking down at Cyrus cuddling up to him.  
"Just fits you." Cyrus said with a shrug looking up to Kasen with a warm smile.   
"Oh? And what's yours?" Kasen asked, refilled the glasses and took his at the same time as Cyrus.  
"Cloud Atlas, have you seen it?" Cyrus asked curiously, refilling the glasses.   
"Not yet, what do you like about it?" Kasen asked as he refilled the shots.  
"I like the whole concept of it, past lives and into future lives. That when we die the cycle goes on." Cyrus said softly, taking the shot before resting his head against Kasen's shoulder. Kasen hummed softly in thought as he gently ran his hand up and down Cyrus's side in thought.   
"Sounds interesting, do you think about that with this life too?" Kasen asked softly before taking his shot.   
"Most days." Cyrus breathed quickly sitting up before he could yawn.   
"Any other deep questions or want to play truth or dare instead?" Cyrus questioned a mischievous smile spreading across his face.   
"I do have one thing. It's a bit serious but important. When you struggle with emotions of any kind or thoughts, will you come to me? Don't push me away or go through it alone... I want to be there for you and help you." Kasen said gently watching Cyrus's eyes grow big as he stared at him taken aback before tears slowly began to fill his eyes and Cyrus nodded quickly a few times drawing a shaky breath.   
"You know... you're the first to ever say that to me." Cyrus breathed his hands quickly going to his face, hiding it in his hands as he struggled to fight back the tears that began to run down his face. Kasen looked over Cyrus worried and when he saw tears slip out between his fingers he gently pulled him forward into a hug.   
"Well I mean it, no matter what you say I won't go anywhere." Kasen said softly, rubbing Cyrus back. "Truth or dare?" Kasen asked calmly, feeling Cyrus's shoulders shake as he laughed lightly.   
"Dare." Cyrus whispered, sniffling slightly as he started to calm down.   
"Kiss me." Kasen whispered back watching Cyrus lift his tear streaked face and wiped away the tears carefully. Cyrus smiled shyly as Kasen brushed away all his tears and crawled forward, straddling Kasen's lap as he hooked his arms around his neck.  
"Tell me when to stop." Cyrus breathed a slight lisp to his voice as he pressed his lips to Kasen's slowly deepening the kiss with a sigh. Kasen immediately kissed Cyrus back sliding his hands up under the back of his shirt feeling the scars across Cyrus's back and slowly trailed his fingers back down hearing Cyrus squeak softly when he brushed a spot on his lower back and smirked into the kiss as he trailed his fingers back to the spot slowly caressing it. Cyrus's hips shifted as he squirmed as a shiver ran down his back, a breathy moan slipped from his lips.   
"Oh my God Kasen- please stop-" Cyrus giggled out between squeaks, his face red blushing as his back reflexively arched.   
"This is the cutest thing I think I've ever seen." Kasen softly said, taking in Cyrus a mess between wanting to laugh and squeal but holding it back as much as possible so it came out as squeaking instead and breathy gasps.   
"You're attacking me!" Cyrus giggled trying to squirm away and out of Kasen's arms. Kasen finally let up gently kissing up Cyrus's neck getting a satisfying sigh from Cyrus who relaxed back into his hold. Cyrus trailed his fingers up into Kasen's hair as his eyes fluttered closed under Kasen's gentle kisses till he reached his lips and pressed his lips to Kasen's.   
"So did you really want to get tipsy so we could kiss or was it so you could work up your courage to kiss me again?" Cyrus asked, pausing in the kiss so he could meet Kasen's pale green eyes.   
"If I said I simply want to see how you act when drunk would you believe me?" Kasen asked softly.   
"Only slightly." Cyrus said playfully pointing to the bottle. "But I'm definitely not drunk yet." He breathed pressing one more kiss to Kasen's lips. "Truth or dare?" Cyrus said with a smirk.   
"Truth." Kasen said right away searching into Cyrus's deep ebony eyes that glinted with mischief.   
"What is it that you like about me? Sense I've tainted you with my kisses and apparently your loyalty to me too." Cyrus said smoothly. Kasen sighed softly pausing to trail his fingers into Cyrus's hair.   
"I not only find you physically attractive but your personality and skills are impressive. You have a beautiful smile and are confident and fearless. Really anyone else in your position would have acted much differently... I suppose that's why I'm even more curious about you." Kasen said watching Cyrus sit there with raised brows.   
"I mean you're not wrong. I've completely cooperated, helped fight alongside you... does make things rather complicated. Sometimes I think I feel more comfortable here because the only person that makes me feel scared and feel unstable is Kenzo... when I'm not home I feel free." Cyrus said softly as he carefully trailed his fingers across Kasen's abs in thought and lowered his eyes to Kasen's chest. "Really I'm just acting through all this, I'm not that crazy that this whole situation of being here wasn't scary or painful even though I act like I don't care." Cyrus said softly as Kasen nodded slightly a bit of silence between them.   
"Truth or dare?" Kasen asked gently, resting his hand on Cyrus's hips.  
"Dare." Cyrus replied softly, smiling slightly.  
"5 shots." Kasen said calmly, watching Cyrus stare at him shocked for a moment as Kasen placed his shot glass in his hand and filled it up.   
"I'm going to regret saying dare aren't I?" Cyrus chuckled watching Kasen shrug slightly with a smirk. Cyrus began quickly shooting them back as fast as Kasen could pour the shot and after the 5th one flopped forward into Kasen resting his head on his shoulder.   
"If I wasn't already tipsy that would have tasted much worse." Cyrus slurred out softly and Kasen chuckled.   
"Are you going to ask me which one I choose or are you starting to fade on me?" Kasen asked as Cyrus sat back up right his face flushed and his eyes a bit heavy gazing up at Kasen through his lashes slightly.   
"Truth or dare?" Cyrus whispered his lips brushing Kasen's as he leaned in close making him pause unsure now which one to pick, for the first time Cyrus had a Russian accent when speaking on top of the lisp from the alcohol. Kasen smiled, tipping Cyrus's chin up as he kissed him gently.  
"Dare." Kasen breathed against Cyrus's lips.   
"Mmnn." Cyrus hummed thoughtfully, his eyes trailing over Kasen slowly. "I dare you, Kasen, to dance with me to a song of my choosing." Cyrus slurred out with his thick accent making Kasen blush at how attractive he was.   
"Alright." Kasen said as he unlocked his phone and pulled up his music and gently placed it in Cyrus's hands watching him carefully search for the song he wanted with a slight smirk. "What sort of music should I be expecting?" Kasen asked curiously as Cyrus quickly moved the screen so Kasen couldn't see what song he would be choosing.  
"It's a surprise." Cyrus giggled out softly and gasped as his eyes caught on a song looking to Kasen with a grin. "I've found a good one." He said clicking play and turning off the screen as he quickly got to his feet pulling Kasen along with him as 'Flesh' began to play from the speakers. Cyrus slowly turned so his back was pressed to Kasen's chest as he slowly began to sway his hips slowly running his fingers up through his hair singing softly to the music, his accent making it hard every now and then. Kasen had danced with a few women but never with a man this way and wished he had better experience slowly taking Cyrus's hips pressing him close as he closed his eyes slowly swaying to the music as well. Kasen knew his face was bright red especially with the sort of song Cyrus chose. Kasen carefully turned Cyrus to face him as he pulled him tightly against him, closing the space between them as he kissed him deeply and more passionately. Cyrus melted in Kasen's arms as he returned the kiss with the same amount of intensity slowly rising up onto his toes as he looped his arms around Kasen's neck. Everything seemed to fade away to the lull of the music shuffling back through Kasen's playlist. Carefully Kasen straightened up, hooking his arms under Cyrus's legs as he kissed him a few more times before gently parting his lips from Cyrus's breathing heavy.   
"Are you ready for bed?" Kasen asked gently, watching Cyrus slowly blink open his eyes sleepily gazing up at Kasen.   
"Yes, and don't drop me." Cyrus breathed out in Russian pressing a few kisses to Kasen's neck hugging him tightly before finally letting go so he could be lowered to the bed. Kasen sat aside the shot glasses and bottle turning out the lights as he tucked Cyrus into the bed. "Wait, sleep with me." Cyrus whispered sleepily in Russian reaching out for Kasen in the dark lightly grabbing his hand once he found it.   
"Alright." Kasen sighed as he slipped under the covers. "But your shirt is coming off your super hot." Kasen chuckled gently helping slip it off of Cyrus.  
"I know I am." Cyrus said giggling as he cuddled up tightly against Kasen kissing him one more time before getting comfortable with a soft sigh. Kasen smiled warmly returning the kiss and held Cyrus protectively in his arms cuddling him. Kasen waited till Cyrus's breathing slowed and shallow as he fell deeply asleep before letting himself drift off as well whispering against Cyrus's hair as he pressed a kiss to the top of his head.   
"You've given me a dream for a future I didn't even know I wanted." Kasen breathed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and continued support! This is a shorter one but wanted to leave off at a cute part before some more intense moments to come in the next chapter. Feel free to leave some comments or questions. Hope you enjoyed! More chapters on the way!


	7. Chapter Seven

"Well this is a sight. What all have you two been up to?" Freya laughed standing next to the bed as late morning light flooded the room. Kasen shifted waking as he looked sleepily towards Freya a bit confused till he looked back down to his arms still around Cyrus. And Cyrus who was still cuddled up to him asleep.   
"Uh... I slept in the bed and Cyrus likes to cuddle." Kasen said quickly, his cheeks heating up.   
"Sure whatever you say." Freya said smoothly as she cleaned up the shot glasses and put the Vodka in the cabinet eyeing how close it was to being empty. "I was sent to check on you sense the Director said you both head out in an hour. Why is he sending you to Russia with only Cyrus?" Freya asked eyeing Kasen as he carefully slipped out of Cyrus's hold and crawled out of the bed.   
"Cyrus is good at... espionage missions and the Director wants us to look into a few things." Kasen said calmly hating how he was spreading out more half truths but mostly lies to Freya.   
"Seems like we suddenly got a mighty useful teammate right out of nowhere. Speaking of which, did you track down the sniper?" Freya questioned her eyes narrowed slightly. Kasen frowned as he tossed the laundry into the dryer cussing softly that he forgot about it. "No, it's a much larger base than I had been expecting. And I stood out a bit too much but I've learned my mistakes since then." Kasen sighed as he looked to Freya meeting her intense gaze.   
"So you ran into Cyrus there and learned he was one of us and returned with him?" Freya asked carefully, watching Kasen closely, especially the way he thought over her words carefully and his eyes flickered to Cyrus for a moment who shifted slightly starting to wake up.   
"Yeah, I asked for his assistance once I found out he was on our side and one thing led to another." Kasen sighed knowing he could only tip toe around this subject for so long. Cyrus slowly sat up running his hands through his messy hair sleepily slowly blinking his eyes open looking from Kasen to Freya.  
"Oh, morning." Cyrus said sleepily, smiling slightly to Freya who glared him down. Kasen let out a frustrated sigh.  
"Can you calm down please. Why are you suddenly so worked up?" Kasen questioned Freya. Freya suddenly walked across the room tossing the blankets off Cyrus before getting onto the bed over him one hand gripping his throat as the other pulled the gun from its holder clicking off the safety as she pressed it to Cyrus's forehead watching his ebony eyes widen in shock.   
"W-what is going on?" Cyrus choked out slowly raising his hands to show Freya he didn't want to fight.   
"I don't believe who Kasen says you are and I want answers!" Freya yelled. Cyrus caught Kasen out of the corner of his eye, slowly circling around silently behind Freya. Cyrus focused his eyes on Freya's as he drew a shaky breath.   
"I believe there must be some sort of misunderstanding." Cyrus said gently knowing his heart beat he could feel pulsing under Freya's tight hold gave away how nervous and on edge he was as it raced. Cyrus closed his eyes for a moment as he knew in a matter of seconds Kasen would make his move and things could go very badly. "You either say what I asked for or not at all!" She yelled her head turning to look towards Kasen. "Kasen?!" Freya snapped as he grabbed her and moved to yank her off of the bed, the sound of the gun firing echoed around the room as Freya blinked up into Kasen's intense gaze frozen. Kasen shoved Freya to the side after pulling the gun out of her hand tossing the chip across the room his hands shaking with rage as he rushed to Cyrus tensing up as Cyrus's hands pressed to his neck and blood bubbled up his eyes closed tightly as he began choking on mouthfuls of blood. Kasen gritted his teeth trying to stay calm as he pulled Cyrus to lay on his side feeling panic slowly tighten his throat.   
"What the fuck do I do?" Kasen questioned pulling Cyrus off the bed and into his arms as hot tears began to run down his cheeks. He knew Cyrus could heal but he wasn't sure to what extent but watching him helplessly overwhelming emotions of dread and pain flooding Kasen's mind.   
"Why the fuck would you do that?!" Kasen yelled at Freya, his voice shaking. She slowly back away shaking her head slightly in shock, her hands over her mouth.   
"I was- I was told he could be the enemy sniper Kasen... I just wanted answers." She sobbed trying to wipe away the tears before they could get too far from her eyes.   
"Yeah? Who told you that?" Kasen yelled, holding Cyrus even closer. Freya shook her head unable to answer as her eyes went to Cyrus noticing he had stopped moving. Kasen felt Cyrus's hands drop limp from holding over his neck, blood running out slowed when his breathing had stopped and Kasen sat there numbly waiting for something to happen.  
"God damn it." Kasen breathed, pressing his forehead to Cyrus's closing his eyes tightly. "Why haven't you healed yet." Kasen whispered, his voice trembling. "I swear to god if you killed him." Kasen growled slowly, raising his eyes to meet Freya's. Never before had she seen Kasen this enraged and the look in his eyes made her blood run cold. Cyrus suddenly gasped gagging on blood pooled in his throat and weakly pushed out of Kasen hold to his hands and knees throwing up a large amount of blood onto the floor a few times as his chest heaved coughing up a bit more before he staggered to his feet the wound fading into a faint scar and as he turned Kasen paled at just how close it had been to Cyrus's spinal cord. Cyrus looked to Freya who stared up at him, her face pale as she pressed back against the wall. Freya had seen many injuries they had taken over the years but none of them had yet to come back after the sort of injury Cyrus just took. Slowly he took shaky steps till he dropped to his knees in front of her, his finger going out and pressed into her shoulder where he had shot her.   
"Kasen considers you his family, so I'd rather protect you than hurt you. But don't fucking pull that again. Or if you do better make sure I'm dead or I'll finish what I started." Cyrus breathed his eyes narrowed in a glare watching her stare at him as it sunk in watching him stand and walk into the bathroom slamming the door. Freya looked to Kasen horrified and frozen to her spot on the floor. Kasen frowned as he eyed Freya's expression, unable to hear what Cyrus had said to her and Kasen glanced to the large amount of blood Cyrus had thrown up and grabbed the towels from last night tossing them down over the blood.   
"What did he say to you?" Kasen asked after a bit, his voice cold. Freya drew shaky breaths, her hand moving up over the scar as she stared up at Kasen.   
"He..." Freya began trailing off as tears ran down her cheeks more quickly. "Are you together? The Director knows who he is doesn't he? Why was I left in the dark, I actually thought he was a good fit for you and the team..." Freya breathed.  
"It's a bit complicated. I'd prefer that you keep it to yourself that I didn't sleep on the couch, but I understand if you don't." Kasen said evenly, frowning as he watched Freya closely as she began to come out of the frozen shock. "Yes he does, I thought it would be best if you stayed neutral on the matter... especially since you were injured." Kasen sighed looking to the bathroom wondering what Cyrus was doing exactly. Freya slowly stood unable to meet Kasen's eyes.   
"At least Cyrus, an enemy is able to tell me what my Captain can't. Have a nice trip, if you get stabbed in the back don't come to me." Freya breathed pushing past Kasen leaving.   
Kasen stood there as Freya slammed his door shut.  
"Fucking hell." Kasen muttered as he nudged the blood soaked towels with one foot running his hands over his face pausing when it felt wet. Kasen slowly lowered his hands to see Cyrus's blood on them from when he held him. "Cyrus?" Kasen called out his voice rough and tight with the stress of what just happened. The silence in response made Kasen look back to the bathroom door frowning as he quickly crossed the room and tried the handles feeling it resist, locked on the other side. "Cyrus let me in please." Kasen said, forcing himself to sound calmer and softer as his heart began to race. As he stood there hearing nothing Kasen took a few steps back kicking the door next to the handle breaking it open as he quickly walked in his eyes sweeping the bathroom quickly for Cyrus. Huddled in the corner with his face pressed into his knees and his arms around his head Cyrus sat unmoving and Kasen slowly walked over slowly kneeling down. "Hey." Kasen said softly, reaching out and gently stroking Cyrus's head. Kasen brushed his hair back carefully making sure not to tug if Cyrus's hair was pressed under his arms. "I'm sorry." Kasen breathed biting hard at his lip as his voice shook slightly.   
"It's because of me you're in a difficult spot and your relationship with those you care about is being affected." Cyrus whispered ever so softly that Kasen had to lean in closer.   
"Freya just needs some space, things are... fine." Kasen gently whispered trying to sound reassuring even though he had no idea what she would do, or what would come next once they returned. Cyrus shook his head slightly as he sniffled slightly, his breathing shuddering.   
"I'm sorry." Cyrus breathed as he tightened his arms more around his head and Kasen moved closer gently taking his wrist as he began to gently move Cyrus's arms and pull him to him feeling Cyrus resit at first and then crawl to him straddling Kasen hips hugging him as he nestled his face into his neck. Kasen tightly hugged Cyrus rubbing his back slowly feeling Cyrus's tears run down his neck.   
"You don't need to be sorry, you're the one that got shot. All my years of training blanked when I saw her press the gun to you. I panicked when I should have been able to handle it no problem. Well that should have never happened to begin with." Kasen rambled on, feeling Cyrus relax into him exhausted.   
"I did attack your base, kill lots of decent people, and shot her. Lots of people want me dead, and I've done terrible things. Why do you still care for me?" Cyrus whispered.   
Kasen sighed deeply, resting his head against Cyrus's in thought as he continued to rub his back slowly.   
"I must be crazy." Kasen said with a slight shrug. "But let's be crazy together." Kasen said carefully. Cyrus let out a laugh through a soft sob as he lifted his head up as he blinked into Kasen's eyes.  
"Are you being serious?" Cyrus breathed as he sniffled a few times as he watched Kasen nod slightly.  
"I wanna say that's like cheesy or something but-" Cyrus trailed off before he pressed a soft kiss to Kasen's lips. "What the hell. Lets be crazy together then." Cyrus chuckled lightly as Kasen carefully brushed away his tears.   
"Together." Kasen said softly before kissing Cyrus's forehead patting him on the ass after. "Come let's get cleaned up and get going, we are starting to cut it close to the departure time." Kasen sighed watching the way Cyrus paused to get up off of him.   
"When on the base, you will have my back right? Even if things manage to go wrong and everything gets intense?" Cyrus questioned his brows drawn together in worry.   
"I have you back, and much better than earlier. I promise." Kasen said seriously. "Besides I owe you for that bullet you took for me." Kasen said with a smirk. Cyrus sighed smiling a bit more.   
"I thought when I met you that you'd always be serious and strict but you're quite the opposite when you let your guard down." Cyrus said playfully, carefully getting up off of Kasen.   
"And I thought you were cocky and reckless... oh wait." Kasen replied watching Cyrus roll his eyes at him but smile. Kasen carefully helped clean off all the blood from Cyrus and his hair and then himself as he laid out on the bed their cleaned clothes as they quickly began to pull them on. "You all set." Kasen sighed as his phone began to buzz with a call. Kasen glanced at the caller ID with a frown before answering and pressed it to his ear. "Yeah we are on our way now." He told the person on the other side as he watched Cyrus nod as he pulled up his long hair into a messy bun with the sides handing down in the front and swooped his bangs across his forehead. Kasen shoved his phone into his pocket and slung his little travel bag over his shoulder as he lead the way through the base making sure Cyrus was close to his side at all times till they reached the small plane and helped Cyrus up into it and got in behind him sinking down in the seat next to him with a sigh as the engines got all warmed up. "Is there anything important I need to know or have prepared?" Kasen asked thoughtfully. Cyrus frowned slightly as he leaned back into the seat.   
"You should completely avoid Kenzo, he might be able to tell you're not one of us by behavior or just be suspicious of you but he will also be like that just because you're with me. Ayato you should know about. He is actually my ex... but Kenzo had ordered him to get close to me so anything I said to him would pass on to Kenzo. He is Kenzo's little play thing so if Ayato is around it's because Kenzo ordered him or wants to stir up trouble. I'll need to make a call once we get there and also make you an I.D. right away so if anyone stops you that will keep you in the clear. You will be marked as a member of my special forces. There is limited paperwork on them which is very advantageous to us. Any questions or shall I continue?" Cyrus asked, looking to Kasen as he studied his taken aback gaze.  
"Special forces? So how many people do you have working for you? And how does that work exactly?" Kasen asked calmly, leaning in a bit closer with interest.   
"I can't list the actual amount, but let's just say there is a good amount of the best trained soldiers and staff I have secretly working for me that I trust. Basically they are free from Kenzo's corruption. They keep order or an eye on things from the shadows and report to me when needed. If I have certain missions that need better people I send them. I'm the only one who knows who is all listed on the team. That way Kenzo can't track them down and kill them or try to win them over because he never takes no for an answer. It's actually what I had offered you as a job for when we first met." Cyrus evenly responded as he folded his hands tightly together. Kasen nodded slowly, taking it all in.   
"So I'm there to work with you on something?" Kasen asked, tilting his head slightly as it sunk in what Cyrus had meant that day they had met.  
"As a bodyguard and to work closely with me, I'm going to say I'm training you in everything I do just in case. Because I'm also giving you full access so there isn't anywhere I can go that you can't follow." Cyrus said calmly, meeting Kasen's pale green eyes.   
"You really are up there in rank..." Kasen sighed looking away deep in thought. "That all sounds good to me." Cyrus nodded slightly leaning his head onto Kasen's shoulder.   
"Also if you ever need something and it's an emergency go to Vyron. He is... like a father to me. So he will help you and you can trust him." Cyrus said softly as Kasen shifted to lean towards Cyrus resting his head against Cyrus's.   
"Vyron, what's his last name?" Kasen asked slowly, sounding out the name so he wouldn't forget.  
"Hale. Vyron Hale." Cyrus said calmly hearing Kasen hum slightly in thought. "Is it okay if I take a nap?" Cyrus breathed his eyes feeling a bit heavy as he relaxed more against Kasen.   
"Yeah of course, you're probably still healing from earlier." Kasen said gently pushing Cyrus to lay down so his head rested on his lap as he gently massaged Cyrus's head getting a soft relaxed sigh now and then from Cyrus letting him know he was doing a good job till he finally faded off to sleep. Kasen sat there for quite some time gazing down at Cyrus thinking over how unheard of what they were doing was, even working together, and especially their complicated relationship that seemed to have plenty of room to grow into something more. Kasen gently put in one ear bud and pressed the other into Cyrus's ear that was facing up to him and clicked on Cyrus's playlist keeping the volume low so he wouldn't wake him. Kasen shuffled through the music and listened closely to songs he didn't know, feeling like he was able to understand Cyrus so much better now that he was seeing into his life and emotions through his music.   
Kasen felt like the next few hours went by in a blur of listening to Cyrus's music and letting his mind wander to the lyrics and thoughts as he kept petting Cyrus's head now and then as he zoned off and shifted slightly surprised as they began the descent.   
"Cyrus." Kasen softly spoke, leaning over Cyrus a bit as he gently shook his shoulder. Kasen smiled at the way Cyrus wrinkled his nose and let out grumpy noises, comfortable and content to keep sleeping. "Time to wake up, we are landing." He said smoothly watching the way Cyrus's lashes fluttered slightly and slowly his dark ebony eyes fluttered open just a bit turning his head with a deep sigh, licking his lips slightly and stretching as he looked up at Kasen. Cyrus studied the way the light reflected off of Kasen's eyes making them look like icy pools of jade and edge his strong jawline and sharp cheekbones. Some of his black hair hung down brushing against Kasen's nose and Cyrus reached up slowly pushing it back out of his face feeling the pomade Kasen used to keep it slicked back not as heavily applied like usual and slowly dragged his fingers over the fuzzy shaved hairs of Kasen's undercut.   
"This is going to be a long day." Cyrus breathed, closing his eyes for a few moments as he rested his hand on Kasen's chest as he began to listen to the music playing in his one ear and smiled. "What?! How did you find my playlist? What do you think? Hate it? Like it?" Cyrus asked grinning as he opened his eyes to stare at Kasen holding his breath.  
"Well first off it's literally your name, and I'm enjoying it a lot. I like the sort of music you listen to, I play a lot of oldies and what's considered I guess vintage music. So what I'm trying to say is it's refreshing." Kasen said, nudging Cyrus to sit up. Cyrus let out a groan as he forced himself to sit up in his seat and moments later the plane landed and Cyrus gripped Kasen's thigh holding on as the plane slowed and let out a soft chuckle quickly easing up on his grip.  
"Sorry, sorry." Cyrus said smiling shyly as he shifted a bit in his seat glancing out the window. "Well I'm extremely happy you like it, kinda weird though I feel almost self conscious. It's like you're able to see into my head by listening to it." Cyrus chuckled looking to Kasen. "Hopefully I won't scare you away." He said smoothly with a wink.  
"Not at all." Kasen said calmly as the plane came to a full stop and the door opened as one of the personal staff walked over to them.   
"We couldn't land you right there but it's about a 30 minute walk from here." The lady said evenly and Kasen unbuckled the belt getting to his feet.   
"Not a problem, take off right away and head back." Kasen said as he scooped up his bag and the lady nodded head to the front of the plane. "Alright let's get moving." Kasen said with a sigh as Cyrus unbuckled and followed behind as they got off the plane and began walking away from the makeshift runway.   
"I'll give Vyron a call to come pick us up if you like?" Cyrus asked softly once the plane took back off so he could be easily heard. Kasen frowned slightly in thought.  
"Whatever you think won't be suspicious." Kasen sighed as he passed Cyrus his phone watching him check a map on the phone for their location before quickly typing in a message and sending it.   
"Hopefully he isn't busy." Cyrus whispered, staring at the phone for a bit waiting before it buzzed softly with a message back and Cyrus's shoulder relaxed slightly. "Ah! Nice, he is heading our way." Cyrus beamed as he pointed up ahead. "If we walk that way, there is a road we can sit by to wait." Cyrus said calmly watching Kasen nod, a bit tense as his pale green eyes kept scanning the area around them a bit nervously. Cyrus took the lead, taking Kasen's hand in his with a warm smile hoping it would help calm Kasen before Vyron would arrive.   
"Are you familiar with this area? Do you know if it's patrolled? Do you think they will check on what plane just came through?" Kasen began to question as he gazed up ahead.   
"I don't believe so to any of those questions." Cyrus said gently, giving Kasen's hand a gentle squeeze. "And even if it is you have me here by your side so everything will be okay." Cyrus whispered softly. Kasen frowned but nodded slightly as they continued to walk in silence till they reached the road. It was a bit overgrown, not used all that much and dirt which Cyrus took as a good sign.   
"Looks like not much traffic goes through here, which means I do know where we are now in terms of the base and it's most definitely overlooked." He chuckled and then paused taking in mind that the area was overlooked and could be later used against them for an attack. Kasen hummed in thought as he found a decent sized rock to sit on motioning for Cyrus to come over and pulled him onto his lap as soon as he bounded over.   
"Seems like you enjoy me sitting on your lap." Cyrus chuckled, blinking up at Kasen.  
"It's because you're small and easy to hold." Kasen sighed, his head turning to keep an eye on either side of the road.   
"I'm not small!" Cyrus demanded his eyes widened as he looked away with a sharp exhale. "I could just stop listening to you if that's your only reason." Cyrus snapped pressing his lips in a frown. Kasen chuckled, wrapping his arms around Cyrus in a hug.  
"And I like having you close, and gives me a good excuse to just give you cuddles." Kasen sighed gently, moving Cyrus's chin so he looked back up at him and met his ebony eyes. Cyrus blinked at Kasen giving him a skeptical look.   
"Sure." Cyrus said sarcastically with a slight smirk, finding it a bit humorous the way Kasen stared him down. "Look..." Cyrus began trailing off as he moved his chin out of Kasen's hold. "You can talk to me if you feel overwhelmed or nervous or anything. I can till this is stressful so let me know anything I can do to help you. Do you have any particular methods you use to calm and relax?" Cyrus asked gently, taking Kasen's hand in his. After a long pause Kasen looked away and back down the road.  
"I suppose I'm not sure anymore. I used to drink... a lot." Kasen said softly, making Cyrus pause listening closely as he gently rubbed his thumb against Kasen's hand. "When I realized that it had become a habit and really was doing more harm than good I pushed it away, as much as possible. I never told anyone before how much I struggled with it, the numbness I relied on. I have a hard time understanding my feelings and with you I find it oddly easy to just feel for once if that makes sense." Kasen said softly. Cyrus nodded waiting for him to go on, holding back from wanting to respond. "I understand now what it felt like for me to tell you I'm here for you because no one has asked me how they can best help me. Just just went on like life was normal and everything was fine." Kasen whispered blinking a bit more as he pressed his lips harder together drawing a shaky breath. "I feel weak... when I show my emotions or cry. And you're able to express yourself so well." Kasen breathed looking down to Cyrus's hand holding his.  
"I don't express myself that well... but for crying and being open with feelings I definitely understand. There are very few people I let see me cry. But experiencing those emotions shouldn't be something to be ashamed of, or to go through alone. But it takes being vulnerable and small amounts of progress to get there. Just as you said being open to live in the moment with me and express how you feel, that took some work for you to get there. But I won't stand by silently while you struggle, I will support you and do what I can." Cyrus said softly watching Kasen lower his head as a few tears spilled over, running down his cheeks.   
"Really I don't know why I'm so shaken up about this." Kasen breathed and Cyrus shifted so he could better hug Kasen close gently putting his face to his neck running his fingers through Kasen's hair.   
"That's alright, sometimes you have to work through what emotions are the strongest and before you can figure out what's causing it." Cyrus said gently. "At least that's what I try to do." Cyrus whispered, pressing a kiss to Kasen's shoulder. Kasen slowly tightened his hug on Cyrus taking slow deep breaths, keeping his face buried in Cyrus's shoulder before slowly lifting his head up quickly brushing away any remaining tears.  
"What do I do if Kenzo hurts you... am I allowed to fight him off or?" Kasen carefully asked. Cyrus sat there for a moment, not expecting that to be the next thing Kasen would say or even ask.   
"Um..." Cyrus breathed as his brows drew together in thought a bit unsure. "No one has asked that before." Cyrus said with a slight chuckle. "I suppose you can?" Cyrus said slowly as his head tilted. "But it would have to be for an extremely good reason." Cyrus said carefully, meeting Kasen's intense gaze.  
"Very well." Kasen said softly pressing his forehead to Cyrus's slowly lowering his eyes. Cyrus slowly lowered his eyes too, looking over Kasen's lips.   
"Do you want to kiss me?" Cyrus asked softly as he slowly closed his eyes, brushing his nose against Kasen's.  
"You're blushing." Kasen said calmly, gently cupping Cyrus’s face in his hands.   
“Am I?” Cyrus questioned even though he knew he most definitely was. “Are you going to do something about it? And if so would it help you feel a bit better?” Cyrus asked smoothly with a smirk.  
“Much.” Kasen said softly as he slowly leaned in closer, carefully biting at Cyrus’s bottom lip before pressing his lips to Cyrus’s. Cyrus sighed as he shifted closer, trying his best not to break the kiss as he straddled Kasen’s lap and looped his arms around him.   
“Good.” Cyrus breathed between kisses as he trailed his hands up into Kasen’s hair. Kasen slowly pulled away from the kiss as a car came to stop next to them and his breath caught.   
“I take it, this is our ride?” Kasen asked, clearing his throat making Cyrus chuckle.  
“Must be. Kasen you’re not embarrassed, are you? That you’ve been seen kissing me?” Cyrus asked, watching Kasen’s face closely.  
“No, I’m more worried that for first impressions it might make him hate me.” Kasen said seriously, his cheeks flushed as he studied the dark tinted windows.   
“Kissing me won’t make him hate you.” Cyrus said with a sigh before carefully getting off of Kasen and headed towards the car, waving at the driver with a huge smile before looking over his shoulder checking to make sure Kasen was close behind before getting into the back seat after Kasen got in closing the door.


	8. Chapter Eight

“You must be Vyron?” Kasen asked carefully looking over the man driving. Vyron was dressed in a dark grey suit, his right ebony eye moved to Kasen in the rear view mirror. Smoke from Vyron's cigar coiled through the air from where it rested at the side of his mouth slowly exhaling before he spoke.  
"And you are?" Vyron asked in a cold and tired tone turning his head a bit more and Kasen paused when he saw the eyepatch over Vyron's left eye.  
"K-kasen. Is your depth perception good enough to be driving with one eye?" He asked worried looking from Cyrus who sat there with a slight smirk to Vyron glaring slightly at Kasen through the mirror.  
"Haven't had any issues with driving, or my bullets hitting their marks.” Vyron said evenly as his ebony eyes shifted back to the road. Kasen nodded ever so slightly leaning back into the seat, his eyes lowering to the floor. “So you’re one of the people that held Cyrus as a hostage? I didn’t expect to see... that you’re quite close, or that they would send only one.” Vyron said coldly, his grip tightening on the wheel slightly.  
"I'm the reason Cyrus is still alive." Kasen answered seriously, frowning slightly. "But I'm not innocent when it comes to him being taken prisoner." Kasen said softly, looking away and out the window. Cyrus patted Kasen's leg gently as he looked to Vyron.  
"But all that isn't important. What is important is that Kasen will be working closely with me to insure success in the plan." Cyrus said calmly, meeting Vyron's eye in the mirror for a moment.  
"I hope you know what you're doing. This is a delicate situation. Especially involving the enemy side." Vyron sighed his brows drawing together in concern. "You could be executed if found out and other serious things." Vyron said softly.  
"I understand... and I'm going to do whatever it takes to make things right again." Cyrus breathed looking down at his shoes falling silent. Kasen shifted his gaze to Cyrus when he heard execution and studied Cyrus's guarded expression wondering what all must be going through his head.  
"On a different serious matter. What is your relationship to Cyrus, Kasen?" Vyron asked evenly, making Kasen straighten up slightly unsure what to say.  
"I um... well." Kasen stumbled along trying to search for the right words, getting a sigh from Vyron.  
"Where do your loyalties lie?" Vyron said evenly looking in the mirror to Kasen looking over his flushed cheeks and troubled expression. As Vyron's words sunk in Kasen's face slowly shifted back to normal with a thoughtful gaze. Kasen would have always instantly responded with his military, and his team. But not he sat there speechless as loyalty to Cyrus was what his heart wanted but would cost him everything.  
"Kasen?" Cyrus asked gently, pulling Kasen from his thoughts as he quickly looked at Cyrus meeting his ebony eyes. Cyrus smiled slightly as he locked his gaze with Kasen's.  
"If you can't answer... that's okay too." Cyrus said softly though his eyes held a bit of uncertainty in them.  
"It's not that I don't want to give an answer. I want to have your back. I'm also betraying everything I've ever known to do so." Kasen whispered, breaking his gaze from Cyrus's.  
"Best figure it out then and soon. You either stand with us or against us. Don't have time to deal with you changing your mind and hurting Cyrus." Vyron coldly chimed in. "When you do figure it out, make sure to vocalize it to Cyrus and myself. Otherwise you will just be an enemy outsider, and something I'd have to clean up later." Vyron sighed lighting a new cigar and ran his fingers through his black hair a few grey strands falling back into place. Kasen nodded slightly, his lips pressed tightly together as he stared at the floor trying to manage some of the emotions he was feeling.  
"We are arriving at the base. Make sure you get that ID for him right away. And watch your back, there is much talk about different reasons you've been gone." Vyron said to Cyrus as the gate opened for them and they drove inside the huge compound of Central base. Kasen looked out the window pausing with how huge the place was, and how well supplied they were. Tanks rolled by and soldiers went about carrying out different tasks.  
"Even though this is my second time here, it always makes me pause." Kasen sighed. Vyron tensed slightly at Kasen's words as he parked the car and looked over his shoulder to them, giving Cyrus a questioning stare.  
"Hopefully you're ready to act like you fit in here." Cyrus said to Kasen gently patting him on the back as his eyes met Vyron's. "It's okay really. I'll be in touch. Thank you so much from being able to come pick us up." Cyrus warmly chirped to Vyron getting out of the car and took Kasen’s hand quickly pulling him along towards the building where he could make a badge for him.  
"Remember, anywhere I go you go. Avoid the people we talked about. And don't wander off alone unless you have the ID and I know where to find you, what path you will take, just everything. Okay?" Cyrus whispered to Kasen as they reached the building, quickly walking down a few halls before Cyrus ducked them into an empty office, locking the door behind them.  
"I understand. I have your back. And we do everything together." Kasen said softly, nodding in understanding. Cyrus plopped down at the desk quickly typing away on the keyboard as he set up a printer. His face was extremely serious as he bit at his bottom lip in focus.  
"Good." Cyrus breathed, breaking his focus for a moment as the printer began to work on the ID and Cyrus quickly picked it up once done, looking it over before scanning a solid white card at the computer before clipping them together and walked up to Kasen attaching them to his uniform carefully. "There we go all set." Cyrus said warmly smiling up at Kasen.  
"So this will do the trick huh?" Kasen asked softly, slowly moving his arms around Cyrus holding him close.  
"For the most part. I'm going to call Luna to put you in the system on the way to my room. Then once there we can privately discuss the next step." Cyrus whispered, resting his hands to Kasen's chest. The sound of footsteps down the hall made Cyrus jolt and he quickly looked around Kasen to the door as a shadow paused outside and the door handle moved as the person checked to see if it was locked. The sound of keys jingled as the door clicked unlock. Cyrus shoved himself up onto the desk, dragging Kasen to him. Cyrus wrapped his legs around Kasen's legs loosely pulling Kasen's face down to his as he kissed him passionately cupping his face before trailing his fingers into Kasen's hair and gave it a slight tug as he lightly nipped at his bottom lip. Kasen let out a startled gasp as he staggered forward to the desk but quickly adjusted, following Cyrus's lead and let out a slight moan as Cyrus pulled on his hair. Kasen blushed as he felt Cyrus smile into the next kiss from his reaction and they didn't part as the door opened.  
"A-ah I'm sorry- I thought well... this office doesn't allow unauthorized people." A nervous and soft voice spoke and slowly Cyrus released Kasen from his hold and as Kasen moved Cyrus whipped at his mouth slightly a bit too much saliva at the corner of his mouth.  
"Ah I'm sorry... it's really not what it looks like." Cyrus said quickly, slipping off the desk as he turned around straightening out the desk that got messed up from him sitting on it. "Is this your office?" Cyrus asked as his eyes looked over the nameplate. "Anton." Cyrus said the guy's name turned back to look at him. Anton had dusty blonde hair and brown eyes, he looked as timid as he sounded a bit slouched and a shy smile on his face.  
"Ah Mr. Kaimyo, I didn't know you've returned to base. Yes this is m-my office." Anton said softly bowing his head slightly.  
"I have but I had some... matters to attend to before I could fully announce that I'm back. How embarrassing." Cyrus chuckled his hand running over his face as he drew a deep breath. "Hopefully you can forgive me for so rudely borrowing your office." Cyrus said softly biting at his lip as he met Anton's big brown eyes.  
"Ah i-it's alright Sir. I won't say anything about this." Anton said quickly, bowing his head a bit more. Cyrus smiled warmly nodding towards the door to Kasen.  
"Thank you. We will get out of your way then so you can work." Cyrus said gently watching Anton move aside so they could leave and once back outside Cyrus let out a deep sigh looking up towards the sky. "Well that could have gone worse." He said softly.  
"So every time we almost get caught is this going to be what we do?" Kasen asked, raising his eyebrows wondering what exactly Cyrus's reputation was that everyone brushed off this behavior and still treated him respectfully.  
"Hopefully not, I need to save some face now and then." Cyrus laughed, taking Kasen's hand in his and laced his fingers through Kasen's. "Unless you're enjoying it." Cyrus said smoothly, giving Kasen a wink. Kasen's cheeks flushed as his eyes shifted off of Cyrus to eye soldiers going about and the paths they were walking as they entered the main building of Central where Cyrus lived. The building contained a dining hall, dormitory, and offices of the higher-ups that worked on the base. Not only that but a full medical wing that had a lower level Cyrus had taken him to, as well as a fitness center Kasen caught signs for on the wall.  
"What's the sign observatory for?" Kasen asked softly as they walked down multiple hallways and Cyrus kept glancing at those they passed a bit on edge.  
"There is a practice range on the roof, but also a green house so it's a nice place to relax or sharpen some skills." Cyrus said softly. Kasen hummed in thought as Cyrus came to a stop at his door about to open it when he paused a frown on his face. Kasen lowered his eyes to see what was wrong and paused when he noticed the door was open slightly. Cyrus slowly pushed the door open with his foot glancing inside and his expression darkened even more. "Get the hell out of my room." Cyrus growled as he entered the room and Kasen followed looking to a man laid on Cyrus's bed who sat up as they entered, smirking at Cyrus. The man was dressed in black military pants and a dark green tee, shoulder length brown hair half pulled back.  
"Cyrus how was your vacation?" The man said smoothly as his dark brown eyes fell on Kasen and his head tilted slightly with interest.  
"Ayato I'm not going to ask again. Get out or I'll shoot you and this time you won't live it." Cyrus hissed watching Ayato slowly get to his feet, his gaze back on Cyrus. Kasen tensed once he heard the name, his eyes narrowed and took a protective step closer to Cyrus as Ayato approached him.  
"Who is this new guy? And you brought him to your room of all places?" Ayato purred glancing at Kasen and smiled darkly. "So protective of you. Does he work for you or are you just getting sloppy with choosing partners now?" Ayato hummed enjoying the way Cyrus bristled at his words.  
"It's none of your business. Unfortunately you're not a high enough rank to have access to the things I know." Cyrus growled through clenched teeth his hands tightened into fists till his knuckles popped.  
"Now, now Cyrus." Ayato soothed. He reached out carefully taking the strand of hair Cyrus left out of his bun on the left side of his face, slowly twisting it around his finger. "No need to be so defensive, just asking harmless questions. I have missed you." Ayato breathed leaning in closer to Cyrus's face. Cyrus wished glares could kill, because every once of hate and disgust he held in the glare set on Ayato. "I'm sure your father would love to know you've returned home safely." Ayato smoothly purred as he pulled on the strand of hair around his finger watching Cyrus grind his teeth slightly.  
"Get out." Cyrus breathed his voice shaking. Ayato laughed lightly for a moment before slowly unraveling Cyrus's hair from around his finger.  
"When you get tired of him, you know where to find me. He will never understand you the way I do." Ayato breathed before stepping back from Cyrus watching the way Cyrus hesitated from another response and Ayato smiled smugly as he looked over Kasen. Kasen's eyes shifted from Cyrus's expression to Ayato as he placed his hand on Cyrus's shoulder.  
"Cyrus has told you to get out. You shouldn't disobey an order, especially given your low rank. Nor do you have permission to be in his room." Kasen said, evenly watching Ayato's eyes narrow slightly.  
"See you two later." Ayato said calmly as he left closing the door behind him. Cyrus stood there for a moment his expression darkening as he thought before raising his eyes looking around his room.  
"Now we have to check to see if he planted any secret microphones or something." Cyrus breathed heading to the right side as he began to look evenly over closely, moving things around. Kasen took the left side and couldn't help but think about what Ayato said to Cyrus, feeling deeply troubled.  
"Cyrus... can I ask you a personal question?" Kasen asked carefully as he continued to search nearing the end of this side of the room.  
"Sure." Cyrus said softly as he looked through his desk and paused to lean on it his head bowed.  
"Ayato... he is clearly abusive. Other than words has he hurt you in any way else?" Kasen asked gently, pausing to look to Cyrus. He froze when he saw the way Cyrus stood there, his back to him and shoulders slumped standing still.  
"Yes." Cyrus breathed before drawing a shaky deep breath as he straightened up forcing himself to continue his searching. Kasen stood there watching Cyrus for a few moments searching for the right words.  
"I hope that if I ever do anything you find uncomfortable or don't want, please tell me. I may have difficult days now and then but I promise you I won't treat you like that ever." Kasen said seriously. Cyrus stood near the door, finished searching that side of the room and quickly wiped his hands across his eyes a few times nodding slightly.  
"If you did I wouldn't stay with you." Cyrus breathed and Kasen quickly walked to him gently wiping away his tears that kept slipping down his cheeks. Kasen studied Cyrus worried as he kissed the top of his head.  
"Good, I want you to be happy and loved how you deserve to be. If I can't give it to you, I'd want you to be happy with someone who can." Kasen whispered. Cyrus pressed his face into Kasen's chest, grabbing a hold of Kasen's shirt tightly.  
"I want you. Even though there is a lot left for us to understand about each other I just feel..." Cyrus trailed off sniffling slightly.  
"That we fit together?" Kasen breathed, finishing Cyrus's sentence and Cyrus nodded ever so slightly.  
"I hope so. Or I'm throwing everything away for nothing." Cyrus said laughing slightly but he sounded sad. Kasen took a slight step back, cupping Cyrus’s face in his hands.  
"Not throwing away, building a better future." Kasen said gently watching Cyrus's eyes widen slightly.  
"Building a better future." Cyrus echoed leaning his face into Kasen's hands. Kasen pressed his forehead to Cyrus's.  
"Don't listen to those negative voices that his words sired up, I'm here. You're not alone." Kasen said calmly watching Cyrus close his eyes nodding slightly. Kasen still wasn't fully convinced but he knew that any more on the subject wouldn't be best for the time being.  
"Did you check the hamper?" Cyrus whispered after a moment of silence and Kasen gently let go looking over to it.  
"Not yet it's the last thing we haven't checked in the room yet." Kasen sighed walking over to it as he remembered the bloody sheet and carefully searched through the hamper so Cyrus wouldn't see it but didn't find any hidden microphones. "Looks like it's all clear." Kasen softly said straightening up and turned to Cyrus who was double checking the bed and between the mattress.  
"How strange that we didn't find anything. Why else would he be lurking in here." Cyrus mumbled with a frown as he flopped down on the bed looking up at the ceiling.  
"Isn't it a good thing?" Kasen asked, laying down next to Cyrus and stretched out relaxing.  
"Hopefully." Cyrus whispered with a frown turning to face Kasen. "Now we can talk about the serious stuff." Cyrus said softly as Kasen turned to his side to face Cyrus as well.  
"Im all ears." Kasen said gently, reaching out and taking Cyrus's hand in his.  
"So I'm going to make a few phone calls. I'm calling in members of the board that oversee all bases and leadership. Basically I'm calling in those who supported my change of position and that I trust. When they arrive it forces Kenzo's hand to back off. Which means I'll gain control while these people are here. That allows me to make the necessary orders that will be followed by even Kenzo's loyal group because all eyes will be on them. Not only that but having them here will allow me to report Kenzo directly to them for any crime or action he makes that goes against the rules." Cyrus explained carefully. Kasen nodded slightly following along in thought.  
"Seems like a good plan. What would happen when they leave?" Kasen asked seriously, searching Cyrus's eyes.  
"Kenzo will be pissed, and he will act accordingly. I will defend myself and if that means that he dies in the process then I'm back by the reports on him and my life being in danger. We just have to make sure everything goes smoothly up to that point and I'm able to successfully fight him." Cyrus breathed closing his eyes for a moment as he drew a deep breath thinking of how hard it will be to actually fight Kenzo when both their lives would be on the line. "Kenzo isn't going to want to go down without giving it his all. We will need to take extreme precautions against anything he might do. That means he could try to have me killed, poisoned, anything really. That's where your support comes in. Everything is relatively new to you so that means you will naturally be paying attention to everything. Having you already alert means that even more changes to the situation around us will be noticed by you. Unlike myself. I can be cautious but growing up here leaves a bit of room for my guard not to be up as much because I'm too familiar to catch some subtle things." Cyrus said softly and sighed hoping he covered everything he thought he needed to.  
"Once Kenzo is down then what?" Kasen questioned as he moved his free hand over Cyrus's hand in his.  
"Depends. If you plan on taking me back with you, I transfer power to Vyron for the time being. He has the experience, temperament and the respect of the forces to be able to lead. If we stay then I do the work myself to ensure everything Kenzo has corrupted gets corrected." Cyrus breathed. Kasen hummed in thought as he trailed his thumb back and forth.  
"I suppose even I didn't think over the trip back. We will have to go over it once we get to that stage." Kasen said carefully. "Is that alright with you?" Kasen gently asked Cyrus.  
"Yeah, and I completely understand. We may be working together and close but to everyone else we are enemies. If that means you have to take me back with you then that's just how things will be." Cyrus softly responded shifting a bit closer to Kasen. "Any other questions or does that cover our work discussion?" Cyrus asked, smiling slightly.  
"I think that covers it. If I think about anything else I'll let you know. Cyrus, would you be able to show me the observatory? I'm actually rather curious about it." Kasen said softly, looking away a bit shy that he wanted a small tour. Cyrus chuckled sitting up and crawled off the bed, shrugging off his jacket as he tossed it over his chair.  
"Yeah we can do that. Just don't let me forget to take the time to put back on my patches tonight." Cyrus said with a warm smile as Kasen shifted to sit at the foot of the bed.  
"You're making the phone calls then we head up?" Kasen asked, his head tilting.  
"That's the plan, love." Cyrus chirped as he lifted his phone from the side table and undid the charger dusting it off. "Shouldn't take me all that long." Cyrus said as he began to scroll through his call list. As he pressed the phone to his ear he wandered over to his desk sitting down as he began to talk softly into the phone. From where Kasen laid it was hard to make out all the details of the call because he didn't want to hover in case Cyrus where to get the wrong idea. After Cyrus made 3 phone calls he slipped his phone into his back pocket as he got to his feet turning to Kasen with a smile. "All set, ready?" Cyrus said warmly.  
"How did the calls go? If you don't mind me asking. And how soon will they arrive?" Kasen asked carefully as he walked to Cyrus's side affectionately placing one hand on the side of his face trailing his thumb along his cheekbone gently. Cyrus blinked up at Kasen, taken aback and leaned into his touch.  
"I don't mind. Went rather well, they said they will report as soon as possible, tomorrow sometime at least one of the two will arrive." Cyrus said calmly before raising up onto his toes and placed a kiss on Kasen's cheek before snatching his hand and took off for the door. Kasen stumbled as Cyrus suddenly ran for the door but smiled as he quickly jogged a few steps to catch up to his side as Cyrus tossed open the door, making sure it locked behind them before leading the way up stairs to the roof. Kasen thought it wasn't allowed anywhere to run through halls and up stairs but those who went by smiled slightly to Cyrus and even some paused to salute.  
"So are you allowed to just do anything?" Kasen questioned his eyebrows raising as he looked over Cyrus.  
"I mean not anything. I could be running because I've been called to an emergency. I still have to work, but my schedule is a bit more flexible." Cyrus said shrugging with a smirk. Kasen sighed, tilting his head in thought before letting out a soft chuckle. As they stepped out onto the roof top Kasen paused his eyes sweeping slowly over the area. The greenhouse Cyrus mentioned was no were close to what he had expected. Filled to the brim with plants, hanging lights gave the space a soft glow and a small path into the greenhouse was all he could make out through all the leaves and flowers. To the right was the training area Cyrus mentioned. Targets hung on the far side for a shooting range, a small obstacle course that looked like it could be set up differently if wanted and some dummies for close combat work.  
"So Kasen, would you rather throw some punches and throw knives, something rough and tough like that or would you like to go through the greenhouse?" Cyrus asked calmly, rocking back onto his heels slightly as he looked up at Kasen's surprised face.  
"You're letting me decide?" Kasen sighed looking between the two areas a bit unsure. He knew the training area would be a comfort pick and all him to burn off some of his nervous energy. But the greenhouse looked like it was a relaxation space and the lighting seemed to give off a romantic warm glow, and he would be there with Cyrus. Kasen bit at his lip, lowering his head for a moment as his eyes closed with a deep breath before grabbing Cyrus's hand and pulling him towards the greenhouse. Kasen's face was serious and he kept his gaze locked on the entrance as his heartbeat picked up. Cyrus staggered slightly surprised, blinking at Kasen a few times looking over his expressionless face curiously before they were surrounded by plants and Cyrus pressed up close to Kasen so they could both fit on the path together. The path twisted and turned until it opened up into a little sitting area, encircled by the plants. A small fountain bubbled in the back and Kasen sat down on one of the floor chairs and dragged the other right up next to him looking at Cyrus. Cyrus laughed lightly looking over Kasen, realizing that this behavior was him being out of his comfort zone and plopped down in the chair next to Kasen leaning against him.  
"Kasen? What's all going through your head?" Cyrus whispered with a smirk looking into Kasen's pale green eyes.  
"I wanted to see how you would look surrounded by flowers." Kasen said calmly, his face still serious. Cyrus paused his eyes drifting around them at all the blooming flowers of all colors a bit shyly before looking back to Kasen.  
"And now that you can see me with all these flowers... what do you think?" Cyrus asked carefully, biting at his lip softly.  
"You're still the most beautiful in the room." Kasen said softly, even though his expression was serious his ears were red and slowly spreading to his cheeks. Cyrus paused his heart, skipping a beat at Kasen's words, feeling heat in his cheeks and his hand moved out gently punching Kasen in the arm.  
"What? I can't possibly be." Cyrus breathed shyly slowly lowering his eyes to his hands tightly grabbing his thighs. Kasen carefully reached across, taking Cyrus's hand. Kasen watched Cyrus's hand relax in his hold before placing a gentle kiss on the top of his hand.  
"Do you normally not expect compliments?" Kasen whispered watching Cyrus's eyes widen and him stammering as he tried to find a response. "Then I'll need to give you more till you believe me." Kasen said evenly as Cyrus fell quite there eyes locked. Cyrus licked his lips slightly as he shifted to face Kasen a bit more.  
"Do you... actually want to be together. Like as in..." Cyrus breathed trailing off as he watched Kasen closely, this was the hardest it has been for him to read Kasen. Kasen drew a careful breath, his eyes slowly swept over Cyrus before he met his ebony eyes again.  
"And if I said yes, would you be able to believe me?" Kasen said softly, his gaze softening.  
"What would we do then... after all this?" Cyrus questioned his head tilting slightly as he slowly laced his fingers with Kasen’s. "We are both tied in some way to family and our work." Cyrus breathed his brows drawing together.  
"We will figure something out... together. I won't pull you away from your life. We just need to trust each other." Kasen said softly, reaching out to gently place his hand on the side of Cyrus's face. Cyrus nodded slightly leaning into Kasen touch as he slowly closed his eyes, he could feel his heart thumping hard in his chest.  
"I don't want to pull you away from what's important to you either. Hopefully we can figure something out." Cyrus breathed, his face flushing even more as he felt Kasen lean in closer till his nose brushed Cyrus's.  
"So does that mean... you say yes?" Kasen whispered against Cyrus's lips, making his breath catch.  
"Yes." Cyrus whispered in Russian as his hands grabbed the front of Kasen's jacket and closed the space between their lips kissing Kasen carefully at first. He could tell they were both holding back the way Kasen pressed his lips hard against Cyrus's but tried to match his pace before they both finally caved in the kiss deepening as Kasen pulled Cyrus to him and onto his lap before his fingers dragged up Cyrus's back and up into his hair pulling it roughly out of the bun getting a soft moan between kisses from Cyrus. Kasen didn’t think he could blush any more but he paused opening his eyes to look over Cyrus. His face was red and his eyes slowly fluttered open half away to meet Kasen's gaze, his lips still parted slightly as he breathed harder. Cyrus's hair swept around his face in thick waves and Kasen slowly ran his fingers through Cyrus's hair watching his eyes close under his touch.  
"You're perfect." Kasen breathed softly as he leaned forward kissing from Cyrus cheek down to his neck pausing for a moment unsure if it would be wise to leave a mark or not. With every kiss Cyrus sighed softly in response, bringing a smile to Kasen's face. As he brushed Cyrus's hair back from his neck his eyes caught a form of someone and paused in mid motion, his eyes slowly raising to an older man standing calmly with his hands behind his back. The man was older with sharp features and slicked back black hair. He was dressed in black military pants and a black tee with a jacket matching Cyrus's over it and Kasen's eyes paused when he saw the three stars, Kenzo. Kenzo cleared his throat, his smoky wine colored eyes glaring down Kasen. Cyrus jolted slightly looking from Kasen frozen over his shoulder to Kenzo, Cyrus's hands tightened slightly on Kasen's shoulders when he met Kenzo's gaze frowning.  
"So instead of coming to me upon your sudden return, you go about the base and being indecent with a man I've never seen before?" Kenzo asked coldly, staring down Cyrus.  
"I don't actually have to check in with you." Cyrus said evenly, his eyes narrowing slightly as he carefully got off of Kasen, standing to face Kenzo.  
"You do if you were taken let's say... over sea. Then yes, because you very well could be a trader if left alive." Kenzo said darkly.  
"Well as said before to Ayato, I went on vacation." Cyrus said evenly with a glare. Kenzo took a few steps towards Cyrus watching the way his foot took a slight step back.  
"Where then?" Kenzo questioned, his intense stare shifted to Kasen who stood up behind Cyrus when he took another step closer.  
"I went to visit my mother." Cyrus said calmly as he felt a bit safer knowing Kasen was there with him.  
"Then how and why did you go across to a base over there?" Kenzo asked, his head tilting slightly.  
"Recreational work." Cyrus responded, folding his arm across his chest as he watched Kenzo closely knowing it was a matter of time before Kenzo got even more pissed.  
"Recreational? Even though you killed our own people?" Kenzo questioned his expression darkening.  
"Did I? I don't believe I did." Cyrus said calmly watching the way Kenzo's eyebrow twitched slightly annoyed. Kenzo pointed at Cyrus as his head nodded towards the exit.  
"Then better make sure you haven't declined in skill over your 'vacation'." Kenzo growled walking out. Cyrus hesitated for a moment, feeling Kasen's hand drop to his shoulder.  
"What do you think he is going to do?" Kasen whispered into Cyrus's ear.  
"Kick my ass." Cyrus sighed as he began to pull up his hair into a bun as he followed the path out, thankful Kasen was close behind. Kenzo stood waiting over by the dummies, the large mat on the ground suitable for fighting. Cyrus slowly walked over towards the mat. A few soldiers who had come to train stood off to the side whispering as they saw Cyrus approach Kenzo. Ayato sat on top of one of the columns on the obstacle course, grinning amused at Cyrus and then to Kasen. Cyrus stepped onto the mat drawing a deep breath as his eyes shifted to Kenzo and staggered as Kenzo immediately closed the distance between them swinging a punch. As Cyrus ducked down under the swing he shifted to slam his shoulder into Kenzo shoving him back as Cyrus took a few more steps in from the edge of the mat shifting to stand at the ready on defense as Kenzo steadied himself glaring down Cyrus.  
"Hope you've learned something new. Don't disappoint me." Kenzo hissed before coming at Cyrus again swinging a kick watching Cyrus's eyes tack his movement and right before his leg connected to Cyrus's raised arms in defense he bent his leg pulling it in before kicking up, his foot connected to Cyrus's jaw watching his head tilt back as Cyrus staggered almost falling. Kenzo smiled darkly as he used the opening to grab Cyrus by the front of his vest ,yanking him back upright and into a curved punch, chuckling as blood dripped down from Cyrus's cheekbone. The skin split from the force of the punch. Cyrus blinked a few times trying to recover and focus his mind racing as he managed to get his arm up in time to block another punch. Kenzo tossed Cyrus to the side letting go of the vest taking the opening of Cyrus staggering to swing a kick into his side hearing the sound of a rib breaking and Cyrus's breath catching as he let out a pained grunt.  
"Who is your new friend Cyrus?" Kenzo hummed as he stalked towards Cyrus. Cyrus stood with his hand delicately pressed to his side as he drew ragged breaths forcing himself to straighten up his eyes having a slight red glint to them making Kasen pause in thought.  
"You're not a high enough rank to know." Cyrus breathed out. Kenzo's hands tightened into fists as he let out a dark chuckle.  
"Is that so? Looked like you are rather close? Or are you letting him use you to rise through the ranks." Kenzo asked his head tilting slightly as he noticed Cyrus not get as defensive as he thought he would to that statement.  
"Shut up and fight me." Cyrus spat out before he took the attack against Kenzo putting everything he had into a roundhouse kick, the force bringing Kenzo's arms blocking the kick along with it as the kick connected with Kenzo's upper arm making Kenzo lose his footing tripping slightly as Kenzo's face became enraged.  
"You're not allowed to use your abilities on me." Kenzo growled.  
"And you're not allowed to cause serious injuries." Cyrus breathed as he stepped in closer to Kenzo swinging a punch and winches as his side erupted in pain from the follow-through of the movement. Kenzo smirked dodging the punch as he grabbed a fist full of Cyrus's hair yanking up hard, watching his face twist in pain before sweeping Cyrus's feet out from under him and slamming him down into the mat taking his free hand and pressing it into Cyrus's side where his broken rib was. Cyrus gritted his teeth as he held in a pained cry.  
"Is that all? I was expecting more from you. And haven't I told you Cyrus, short hair doesn't give an opponent something to use against you." Kenzo sneered amused. Kasen shrugged off his jacket as his eyes trained on Kenzo as he stepped onto the mat cracking his knuckles before tilting his head side to side popping his neck watching Kenzo's gaze slowly raising to Kasen but not fast enough.


	9. Chapter Nine

Kasen was on Kenzo in a blink of an eye, his fingers tightly holding Kenzo's hair as he yanked him up off of Cyrus and punched him with all his strength in the stomach. Kenzo gasped for air, his shocked eyes changing into a glare as he realized what had happened. Kasen yanked hard with the hand holding Kenzo's hair before swinging another punch into Kenzo's face watching blood stream down from his nose.  
"What you meant to say, is that it doesn't matter how long your hair is. But doing something like this is an easy way to be a cunt to your opponent." Kasen growled as he let go, shoving Kenzo hard to create distance between Kenzo and them. A murmur went through the small crowd that had gathered that slowly became more as new spread of the fight. Kenzo wiped at his nose looking down at the blood smeared against his hand before raising his cold eyes to Kasen. Cyrus slowly struggled to his knees looking up at Kasen taken aback that he just stepped in and his gaze slowly moved to Kenzo who stood there sizing up Kasen now treating him like an actual threat.   
"So you work for Cyrus?" Kenzo breathed his hands tightened into fists.   
"I'm here to fight a war for my country. Not to work under someone who doesn't understand morals like yourself. Cyrus and my interests coincide." Kasen said evenly watching Kenzo's brows draw together in thought. "So no I'm not with him for personal gain, but you wouldn't be able to understand something like that now would you?" Kasen growled taking a few steps towards Kenzo going on the defensive and Kasen moved his arms up he was used to boxing. The way Cyrus and Kenzo fought seemed to be more loose so Kasen hoped that tight defensive and quick punches would be more effective.   
"Seems there is more to you then what meets the eye. I'll have to keep that in mind." Kenzo said coldly, studying Kasen's new posture and defense letting out a thoughtful hum. Cyrus staggered to his feet, his breathing more stable as his injuries worked on healing as his eyes swept from Kasen to Kenzo not used to seeing Kenzo hesitate so much.   
"You rather talk than fight now? You’re only cocky because you feel like you hold something over Cyrus and when someone else challenges you you simply back off?" Kasen questioned his eyes narrowing. Kenzo frowned, pressing his lips together in thought before he approached Kasen swinging a few faints to test how Kasen would move and what would make Kasen shift his weight looking for an opening. Kasen gritted his teeth knowing what Kenzo was up to and as he tossed another faint Kasen quickly jabbed out a punch connecting with Kenzo's cheekbone, his head turning with the force behind it and Kasen caught out of the corner of his eye Ayato hop down from his spot on top of the column. Kasen shifted taking a few steps back, lowering his defense slightly.  
"How about we call this good, you're just going to keep looking worse and you should save face." Kasen said calmly watching Kenzo bristle slightly to his words. "Just remember next time you try to fight Cyrus in any way, I'm going to be right there with him." Kasen growled, glaring Kenzo down. There was no room for misunderstanding now. Kasen would protect Cyrus and make it very clear to everyone. Cyrus slowly walked to stand next to Kasen looping his arm around his waist.   
"Well now that you've been properly introduced to my boyfriend, I'm calling it a night." Cyrus said calmly locking eyes with Kenzo because turning to go his hand trailing across Kasen's back and to his hand, holding it tightly to keep his hands from shaking. They walked in silence for some time on the way to Cyrus's room, Cyrus leaning his head against Kasen's shoulder as they walked after a bit.   
"You okay?" Kasen asked gently as his pale green eyes looked down at Cyrus worried, the rest of his face serious.  
"Just wasn't where I expected the evening to go." Cyrus sighed softly as they reached his door and he pushed it open locking it behind them. "Kenzo is going to... I don't know but something. He won't like that I have someone as loyal and skilled like yourself by my side. Kenzo definitely treated you like an equal and a threat." Cyrus breathed sitting down at the edge of the bed before leaning forward putting his face into his hands. Kasen knelt down in front of Cyrus as he gently placed his hand on either one of Cyrus's thighs, his face finally showing how troubled and concerned about Cyrus he was.   
"You're beyond his equal. You saw it didn't you? When you put your all into it you could out fight him and he looked panicked." Kasen said gently as Cyrus's shoulders shook slightly and he pressed his face into his hands more trying to hold back the tears he could feel welling up.   
"Using the ability I have slowly kills me Kasen, it's something I can't rely on and if I can't fight him now then how am I to-" Cyrus cut off as his chest heaving trying to hold back a sob and he cleared his throat forcing himself to take deep breaths as tears slipped through his fingers. "When it's time for me to fight him... how am I to win?" Cyrus breathed his voice shaking. Kasen sat there for a moment, his eyes shifted back and forth reading over his thoughts, looking for the right words.  
"Kenzo has been the one training you your whole life right? And you said you have to hold back from your full potential because of the negative side effects? How long can you use them before you start to experience them?" Kasen asked carefully.  
"It depends a lot on what state I'm in, if I'm well rested and not seriously injured many hours before I start to experience the drawbacks." Cyrus breathed. Kasen nodded slightly as he gently rubbed the side of Cyrus's thighs trying to sooth him.  
"Okay... so with that in mind. I can train you. We just have to find a good time to work it in. And for that to happen, I need to see what all you can do when you don't hold back." Kasen said seriously watching Cyrus lift his head, his teary eyes and tear streaked face as he blinked at Kasen in shock.  
"You... train me?" Cyrus echoed slowly processing what Kasen was telling him.   
"We have the time, we knew this would take time. So now that we know what needs to be polished up then we have a goal to reach till we know we are ready. With those people here from your board then that will allow us to have a bit of time where Kenzo can't bother us without having to deal with them." Kasen said smiling, relieved he actually thought of something good. Cyrus nodded slightly as he held out his arms, motioning that he wanted a hug. Kasen looked over Cyrus blinking his eyes at him and gave a cute pouty face as he holding his arms out wanting a hug chuckling as he caved in pulling him into a tight embrace, cradling the back of Cyrus's head with one hand as he cuddled his face into Cyrus's neck.   
"I'm sorry I didn't step in sooner to help you." Kasen whispered and Cyrus shifted hugging Kasen back.  
"Honestly I didn't expect you to fight at all. You surprised me. And you're very impressive... no one has ever stood up to Kenzo for me." Cyrus breathed.  
"Well now you have someone who will. I promise I'll protect you and fight at your side." Kasen said gently rubbing Cyrus's back, feeling him begin to calm down more, relaxing into the hug.   
"Thank you." Cyrus breathed resting his forehead on Kasen's shoulder before he quickly raised his head. "Oh my gosh! You have been on this floor this whole time, your knees must be hurting! I’m sorry!" Cyrus said quickly as his eyes widened talking faster as he shifted patting the bed next to him. Kasen laughed lightly as he slowly let go of Cyrus as he stood up.  
"Why are you apologizing? I'm okay really." Kasen said pausing before eyeing Cyrus. "But you need a bit more attention." Kasen said his face became incredibly serious as he suddenly picked up Cyrus under his arms. Cyrus gasped startled by Kasen suddenly lifting him up meeting his intense gaze a bit unsure as Kasen tossed him farther onto the bed. Cyrus shifted a bit dazed and didn't have much time to react as Kasen climbed over him pinning down his legs with his own sitting over Cyrus's hips but not with his full weight not wanting to hurt him as he tugged Cyrus's shirt out from being tucked in and pulled it up enough to see his torso trailing a finger down Cyrus's abs for a moment locking eyes with him.  
"Kasen?" Cyrus breathed a bit unsure, meeting his intense gaze shyly. Cyrus's mind blanked not sure what to do as he stared up at Kasen. Suddenly Kasen began to tickle Cyrus's sides carefully watching Cyrus's eyes widen and his lips pressed together trying to hold back laughter as his hands moved trying to stop Kasen.  
"Are you seriously tickling me?" Cyrus giggled out squirming under Kasen.  
"Maybe." Kasen said with a slight smirk as he continued, thankful he guessed a good spot. "But you're not laughing as hard as I'd like." Kasen sighed as he paused for a moment.  
"What do you mean not-" Cyrus began but was cut off as Kasen lifted up slightly flipped him onto his stomach as he slowly trailed his fingers down Cyrus's back finding the extremely ticklish spot on Cyrus's lower back and Cyrus gasped trying to look over his shoulder to Kasen.  
"K-kasen please, I-I" Cyrus pleaded but a squeak cut him off as Kasen began to tickle the spot watching Cyrus squeeze his eyes shut tightly gasping loudly as he tried to fight it till he was laughing hard and trying to slip out from under Kasen, struggling to catch his breath.  
"Why are you trying to kill me?!" Cyrus giggled out tears running down his cheeks from laughing so hard. Kasen slowly stopped flopping down to lay next to Cyrus pulling him close.  
"You're cute when you laugh uncontrollably." Kasen said softly with a smile gazing into Cyrus's tired eyes as he breathed hard trying to catch his breath still.   
"Wow." Cyrus breathed his face red blushing as he closed his eyes. "Now I'm all sweaty and tired." Cyrus whispered, flicking Kasen gently on his nose as he opened one eye slightly.   
"Ow." Kasen chuckled as he carefully pulled Cyrus's shirt back into place. "Don't worry, I'll allow you to get revenge on me sometime." Kasen said calmly with a smirk.  
"Oh I most definitely will." Cyrus hummed as he turned so his back was to Kasen before schooching back cuddling against him, and smiled content as Kasen moved his arms around him.   
"Tomorrow the plan begins to take effect." Kasen breathed and Cyrus nodded slightly as he sighed, relaxing.   
"Let's hope for the best." Cyrus breathed as they laid there in silence cuddling till they drifted asleep.

Cyrus drew a slow deep as his legs stretched out as his eyes slowly fluttered open in the late morning light. Kasen's arm still around him just more limp as he was still asleep for the moment as Cyrus shifted picking up his phone. He turned on his music, keeping volume soft as he looked at the most recent message he had received. The first member of the council has arrived. Cyrus quickly sent a message asking to meet with them in a few hours setting the phone aside as he raised the volume slightly. Kasen's arm slowly wrapped around Cyrus a bit more, his fingers flexing as he started to wake. Cyrus rolled over to face Kasen with a tired smile. Kasen's eyes were still closed and his lips puffed out slightly and Cyrus giggled softly finding his sleeping face adorable before gently pressing a kiss to Kasen's lips. He felt him inhale more deeply once Cyrus kissed him starting to wake up even more and Cyrus kissed him one more time as Kasen returned it, his arm holding Cyrus tighter to him. Kasen slid his hand down Cyrus's back resting on the small of his back as he deepened the kiss with a sigh.   
"Good morning." Cyrus whispered one their lips parted, getting a soft hum of agreement from Kasen as his eyes opened slightly.   
"You're more cheerful than usual, I thought we both weren't actually morning people?" Kasen sighed with a slight smirk.   
"That's because I got good news, the first person has arrived." Cyrus said warmly as he moved down a bit to cuddle his face into Kasen's chest. "We will meet with them in a few hours, want to get dressed and grab a coffee?" Cyrus asked, raising his head to look up at Kasen with a huge smile. Kasen looked down at Cyrus and couldn't help but to smile affectionately in return.   
"Yeah, that sounds nice. I'm not used to sleeping in and not having insane workouts at 5am." Kasen chuckled as he carefully let go of Cyrus getting to his feet as he began to stretch.  
"I mean we can get up that early and do that if you want." Cyrus said teasingly as his eyes drifted over Kasen watching him before getting up as well. Cyrus picked up clean uniforms for them to wear from the stack in the closet laying it out of the bed as he began to pull on his. Kasen joined Cyrus glancing over to him now and then his cheeks slightly flushed.  
"I don't think I'm ever going to get used to this sort of thing." Kasen breathed more to himself with a slight smile as he pulled on the solid black uniform that matched Cyrus's and sat on the bed as he yanked on his black military boots. Cyrus was taking a few steps leaning over to pull on one boot and tie it before walking a bit more and doing the same to the other as he reached his desk lifting up his coat as he quickly began sewing on the patches that had been removed.  
"Almost forgot." Cyrus sighed as he quickly finished pulling his jacket on over his long sleeve and ballistics vest before turning to Kasen. "All set?" Cyrus asked, hooking his thumbs in his pockets looking at Kasen. Kasen's eyes paused on the patched on Cyrus's jacket, he had left off the captain one he was used to and attached the one that had been sewn on underneath.   
"You're a... five star rank?" Kasen breathed staring at the patch and then up at Cyrus's face in shock. He had known Cyrus held a great deal of power but this was more than he had expected.   
"Um." Cyrus hesitated looking down at the patch. "Kinda? Kasen I know I never flat out said my rank or anything." Cyrus answered nervously, his eyes looking away as he could feel Kasen's intense stare on him. Kasen rocked back on his heels, he still loved Cyrus but knowing his official rank made his blood run cold.   
"So you half lied to the Director? Or more avoided the subject?" Kasen asked carefully.   
"Avoided more, Kenzo does have the base under orders that I'm to be treated as a Captain, it's really up to those who are loyal to follow my actual rank or not." Cyrus said softly with a frown. Kasen pressed his lips together in thought for a moment standing there silently his eyes slowly drifting over Cyrus.  
"Word gets out that you're with me... a Captain, it's going to look extremely bad. There will be a lot of assumptions or-" Kasen began to ramble on as Cyrus slowly walked up to him.  
"If you don't want to do this, I understand." Cyrus breathed, lowering his head not able to meet Kasen's eyes.  
"No, I do want us. I'm just worried." Kasen breathed slowly pulling Cyrus into a hug as his eyes closed to hide his troubled gaze. "I just need to work out different options we can take... just in case." Kasen sighed as he gently squeezed Cyrus before stepping out of the hug. Cyrus nodded, drawing a deep breath.  
"I understand. Just talk through your thoughts with me so we can be on the same page, is all I ask." Cyrus said softly and Kasen nodded, taking his hand nodding to the door.  
"How about the coffee now?" Kasen asked with a smirk getting a shy smile from Cyrus before he nodded, heading out of the room together and Cyrus made sure the door locked tightly behind them as they began to walk down the hall.   
"So are you getting just a black coffee or are you actually going to drink something that's not poison." Cyrus teased as he gave Kasen's hand a light squeeze. Kasen smirked, shaking his head slightly in thought.  
"We shall see what looks good, Mr. Sweet milk with a splash of coffee." Kasen said softly, getting a light laugh from Cyrus in response.  
"Kasen-" Cyrus began and was cut off as alarms began to go off and Cyrus paused confused as his brows drew together looking around as everyone began to flood the halls to evacuate. Cyrus carefully slipped his phone into Kasen’s back pocket before taking his hand holding on to it tightly.   
"What's going on?" Kasen yelled over the blaring alarms as people began to shove into them making Kasen stumble as more and more people packed into the halls trying to get to the exit.   
"I don't know! This sort of thing doesn't happen!" Cyrus yelled back and Kasen paused when he could see panic in Cyrus's eye as someone shoved into Kasen, their hands being torn away from their hold as Kasen began getting dragged along by the crowd trying to fight against it as Cyrus felt someone grab onto the back of his jacket and began pulling him backwards.   
"Cyrus!" Kasen screamed trying to shove his way back through his people beginning to lose Cyrus through all the chaos, his eyes frantically searching for him. Cyrus shifted trying to pull out of the hold as an arm looped around his torso dragging him along better.   
"K-kasen!" Cyrus struggled to yell over the alarms and the crowd as a hand clamped down over his mouth. Cyrus could feel his heart racing as he began to panic, every time he tried to get his footing and fight off the person the crowd would sweep his feet out from under him. Cyrus shook his head trying to get the hand off his face and felt the hold loosen as he opened his mouth, sinking his teeth into the person's hand till he tasted blood. As the hand from his attacker pulled away Cyrus yelled as loud as he physically could one last time.  
"KASEN! HELP!" Before a needle jabbed into his neck causing him to cry out in pain before everything began to get blurry and his limbs went limp as he blacked out.

Cyrus sputtered awake in a mix of gasping and yelling as it took him a moment to catch his breath feeling his arms yank against restraints as he tried to move. Cyrus blinked confused staring up at fluorescent panel lights on the ceiling before his eyes slowly lowered looking down at himself. Cyrus felt his heart drop as he shook his head in a stunned daze for a moment. He was dressed in a hospital gown, bandages covering his arms, his wrists and ankles strapped down to the bed. Cyrus let out a choked out sob as it caught in his throat as his head fell back against the pillow as he began to hyperventilate.   
"This can't be real." He muttered to himself a few times trying to calm down as his anxiety continued to grow. The door opened and a woman dressed in blue scrubs and a white lab coat entered holding a clipboard as she gave Cyrus a concerned and stern stare.  
"I see you have finally come to Cyrus." She said coldly as she stood next to the bed gazing down at him with a frown.   
"W-where am I?" Cyrus breathed out as he pulled slightly at the restraints on his wrists flinching in pain.  
"Don't fight, it will only make things worse. You've lost a lot of blood, I don't expect you to remember your father bringing you in." The woman said looking down at the clipboard.   
"My father?" Cyrus echoed feeling sick to his stomach as the whole situation he was in felt like it was crashing down around him.   
"My name is Doctor Anderson, and I will be overseeing your treatments." The woman said coldly as she tucked the clipboard under her arm.  
"There must be a misunderstanding. I need to go back home." Cyrus pleaded shaking his head slightly as he pulled again at the restraints, tears filling up in his eyes.  
"Not at all. Have here you're incredibly suicidal, and not only a risk to yourself but to others too. Your father also mentioned you have a sickness... we will help treat that too." Doctor Anderson said sharply watching Cyrus's face closely twist into confusion.   
"Sickness? I'm actually quite healthy, and I'm n-not suicidal. I haven't cut in... quite some time." Cyrus said quickly, his hands tightening into fists.   
"Your father did say you would lie instead of cooperate with us." Doctor Anderson said darkly as her eyes narrowed. "Your arms are both covered with the most serious cuts I've seen in a long time, not to mention the amount of old scaring you have. As for sickness... well that will be fixed when you are able to do as we ask." She said sharply.  
"It wasn't me! I didn't-" Cyrus began to raise his voice as his throat felt tight as a sob shook his chest.   
"I think it's best we keep you on the medication till you are no longer delusional." Doctor Anderson said as she lifted a syringe from a trey next to the bed flicking it a few times as a bead of liquid slowly slid down the needle. Cyrus felt as if all the blood drained from his body as he stared in horror at the needle as well as the large dosage that it was filled with.   
"Please, let me call my father- he can explain." Cyrus breathed, breaking down into tears as she leaned down injecting it into his arm, her face expressionless. Everything slowly began to go hazy as Cyrus fell under the affects of the sedation.

Kasen stood in Cyrus's room for hours after the alarms had gone off and a drill was called off. Kasen stared at the door waiting but Cyrus hadn't returned.   
"Something is wrong." Kasen breathed as he looked at the time. "This is when we were supposed to meet with the board member Cyrus called in." Kasen whispered to himself with a frown, his hands shaking as he ran his fingers through his hair. Kasen picked up Cyrus's phone, swiping it open to the lock screen staring at it for quite some time trying to figure out what his password could be before it began to buzz with a call. Started by the call Kasen jumped hard, the phone slipping from his hands and caught it just before falling to the floor answering it as quickly as possible.  
"Hello?" Kasen breathed, his voice shaking when he spoke.   
"This isn't Cyrus. Kasen? Hand him the phone, this is important." Vyron sighed tiredly from the other end.   
"Vyron?! Cyrus isn't with you?" Kasen stammered, relieved to hear his voice but filling up with even more dread.   
"No? He is late to the meeting with the board member." Vyron said evenly, the confusion coming through in his voice.   
"Where are you at right now? I'll come to you." Kasen said quickly, rushing out into the hall looking over the signs on the wall.   
"Conference room four." Vyron said evenly the sound of him rolling back from a chair and sighing as he got to his feet. Kasen hung up as he took off running down the hall following the signs till he reached the door to the room and paused looking to Ayato calmly leaned up against the wall next to it with a smirk on his face.   
"Ah your Cyrus's boyfriend from the other night. You don't look good is everything alright?" Ayato purred looking over Kasen.   
"You better not be out here by the time I'm done in there. Or you won't be able to smile ever again." Kasen growled, throwing open the door and slamming it behind him looking at Vyron leaned against the table. Next to him was a young woman dressed in a tight form fitting skirt and a dress shirt tucked into it. Her long blonde hair cut straight across her shoulders and her pale blue eyes looked over Kasen calmly.   
"Kenzo must have done something to Cyrus. I just ran into Ayato all to conveniently placed outside this room." Kasen breathed as he straightened up once he caught his breath meeting Vyron's intense stare. "I can explain. During that drill Cyrus and I got separated, literally forced apart. I tried everything to get back to him but lost sight of him. If we were both being pulled along he should have kept about the same pace as me and not fallen out of my view of vision." Kasen said seriously pacing back and forth trying to think. "He must have somehow learned of your arrival." Kasen said evenly looking back to the woman watching her lean back with a frown.   
"I would never betray Cyrus, if that's what you're implying." The lady said calmly, her eyes sweeping to Vyron.  
"Kasen, this is Laura. Laura, this is Kasen. Now explain how he would have found out." Vyron said crossing his arms with a troubled frown.   
"Cyrus had been suspicious that Ayato planted a listening device in the room... but we looked through everything and didn't find one. But that's the only place we discussed the time and went over the meeting." Kasen said quickly his face falling as he thought of more serious things they talked about too. "And if it is bugged then... Kenzo would also know where I'm from." Kasen said darkly, running his fingers through his hair slowly, taking a deep breath. Vyron slowly sank down into a chair, leaning back into it as he folded his hands in his lap focusing fully on Kasen.   
"Did Kenzo make any threats aimed at today or any suspicious comments you can think of? I heard Cyrus and you brawled him last night. Incredibly stupid..." Vyron sighed trailing off as he gave Kasen a glare. Kasen stood there, his eyes moving to the floor as he thought back to all the things Kenzo had said biting at his lip in thought.   
"Threats..." Kasen breathed to himself and his blood ran cold as his head jolted up looking to Vyron. "Kenzo made one threat when I very first met Cyrus, but he didn't know I was even there to overhear." Kasen stammered, getting an annoyed look from Vyron but a nod to go on. "Kenzo told Cyrus that if he self harmed he would have him taken away, where no one would find him and keep him there till he is dead." Kasen breathed his face going pale. Vyron sat very still as his lips pressed together into a thin line slowly sitting forward in the chair looking to Laura.   
"Looks like you're going to have to stay here for awhile." Vyron said softly as he got to his feet stepping out into the hall for a moment. Laura frowned as she looked away to the table.   
"This is bad. If Cyrus dies then everything we have been fighting against is over." She breathed looking at Kasen. "I'm sure Vyron will help you, but bring him back. Do whatever it takes." Laura said evenly as she stood pulling out a stamp from her purse and grabbed Kasen's badge, marking a thick ink stamp in blue over in the top left blank corner and pressed a sticky plastic film over it to seal it.   
"My symbol of my branch will give you the clearance you need." Laura said evenly as she slipped the stamp back into her purse. Kasen lifted up his ID badge looking down at the symbol of an owl and paused as he realized she must be the head of the intelligence branch. They were incredibly difficult to get any trace or information on and yet Kasen just got a free pass by them. Vyron kicked open the door dragging Ayato in by a choke hold, one hand clamped over his mouth as he tossed him into the chair he had been sitting in. Vyron swiftly pulled out a gun from a holder that was under his arms and pressed it to Ayato's head glaring at him.   
"You will tell me now where Cyrus was sent off to or I will kill you." Vyron growled as he glared down at Ayato's amused expression.   
"Cyrus? I have no idea where he is." Ayato said smoothly and Vyron shifted, turning the gun off safety mode.  
"Kenzo told you, so spit it out." Vyron hissed pressing the gun harder to Ayato's forehead. Kasen frowned, watching Ayato laugh darkly as he pulled out one of his knives he kept in his boot walking up and swiftly stabbing it into Ayato's leg and began to twist as Vyron adjusted, putting his gun away as he went behind the chair holding Ayato's hands firmly behind him. Ayato let out a pained yelp, jolting in pain as he glared at Kasen.   
"What good will this do you?" Ayato questioned, smirking slightly at Kasen's glare. "Did Cyrus tell you about me?" Ayato breathed smiling more. Kasen twisted the knife harder, getting a cry of pain in response. "Did he tell you how I won him over, took a few tries. He put up a fight against me for quite some time before he finally allowed me to show him what he thought was love willingly." Ayato sneered out grinning. Kasen paused, going incredibly still as his face went expressionless slowly raising his eyes to Ayato's in a cold stare. Kasen slowly pulled the knife out before stabbing it into Ayato's stomach slowly dragging it across inch by inch watching Ayato scream in pain.   
"Better say it quickly." Kasen breathed, raising up slightly so Ayato couldn’t look away from his eyes.   
"You won't be able to save him." Ayato spat out as his body shuttered in pain as his intestines began to seep out of the growing cut Kasen was making.   
"I will kill however many people it takes, I have no issue with that. Starting with you. If you want to live now is your last chance." Kasen said calmly as he stared down Ayato watching his face slowly shift to a horrified expression as he looked down at the blood running out of him and intestines. Ayato drew shakey gasps as his eyes raised to Kasen's.   
"A mental hospital- Kenzo makes donations to." Ayato sputtered out and Kasen slowly raised his eyes to meet Vyron's.  
"Do you know where it is?" Kasen questioned evenly. Vyron stared down at Ayato in thought and his eyes reflected the rage he was feeling.  
"I thankfully do. But it's heavily guarded. You can only visit through appointments." Vyron breathed, gritting his teeth. "I should have seen this coming. I have people report Kenzo's financial movements but..." Vyron trailed off his brows tightly pulled together. Ayato's head dipped as he began to struggle to stay conscious and Kasen looked back down at him in disgust.   
"Do we let him die?" Kasen said coldly as he looked from Vyron to Laura who both looked unsure.  
"Letting him die does sound appealing for what he has done to Cyrus, but he gave a confession. It would be better to send him away to prison forever than to go down a darker path." Laura said carefully as she lifted a recorder from her bag.   
"Yeah and I just cut someone in your conference room to get answers. Both look bad." Kasen sighed, whipping his knife off on Ayato's leg as he slipped it away.   
"I'll call one of my trusted medical professionals, Rose. She will take care of it." Vyron said evenly as he pulled out his phone walking to the other side of the room as he spoke. It didn't take long for a small team of medics to rush in and collect Ayato as well as clean up the blood before leaving. Kasen sat on the table watching the door shut and silence fell over them again as he looked at Vyron staring down at his phone lost in thought.   
"How are we going to get an appointment?" Kasen asked at last as he stared down Vyron.   
"I need to call his mother." Vyron breathed, placing his face in his hands as he drew a slow deep breath. Kasen's eyes widened as he shifted to face Vyron more.   
"Would you put it on speaker? Maybe I could help?" Kasen breathed as Vyron gave him a skeptical look.   
"You don't know her like I do. But if you sit silently and I nod to you to speak then you may." Vyron said evenly as Laura stood walking to the door.  
"I'll give you to the room." She said softly bowing her head slightly before leaving and Vyron clicked call setting it on speaker. It only took a few rings before a soft voice of a woman came on.  
"Hello?" Her warm voice came through speaking in Russian.  
"Rose, it's me Vyron. Do you have time to talk?" Vyron asked softly, hearing her pause.   
"Of course... should I call Luna?" Rose asked carefully.   
"That's your choice. It's about Cyrus... perhaps she could help us actually." Vyron said thoughtfully. There was a slight pause as the phone lowered and Rose could be heard calling for Luna. Soon another voice added to the call.   
"Yeah?" A more laid back and calm woman's voice came through.  
"Luna, if you don't mind taking a seat with your mom, we have something important to talk about." Vyron sighed.  
"Ah! Vyron, no problem." She said warmly in English as she plopped down. "This is about Cyrus isn't it?" Luna asked, concerned.  
"I don't know how to say it without being blunt." Vyron said softly with a frown taking a slow deep breath. "Kenzo has taken Cyrus and locked him up in a hospital... and wants them to kill him. Luna would be able to hack the system and enter us in the system on the next available visitation day, we will break him out." Vyron said seriously. There was a long pause of silence on the other side before Luna spoke.  
"I bet Cyrus is freaking out..." She whispered. "Yeah of course I'll hack in for you." Luna breathed as she stood. "I'll be right back with my laptop." She said quickly before the sound of her running upstairs came through.   
"Vyron... will he be alright do you think?" Rose whispered her voice shaking with sorrow.  
"I honestly don't know... this could trigger a relapse. He had made good progress." Vyron sighed, placing his face in his hands.  
"Relapse? What do you mean?" Kasen asked carefully in Russian, watching Vyron lift his head meeting Kasen's eyes.  
"You're not alone?" Rose asked softly with a sniffle.  
"No, I'm sorry. I told him to wait silently. This is Kasen... Cyrus's partner." Vyron said tiredly, giving Kasen a cold stare.  
"I'm sorry, I just wanted to know what you meant?" Kasen breathed looking away with a frown.  
"Cyrus has struggled with chronic depression his whole life, largely caused by Kenzo. He would have weeks where he would struggle with self harm, and I had to watch him closely to try and prevent him from going too far." Vyron sighed softly, his expression becoming sad and troubled. Kasen drew a careful breath thinking.   
"We all struggle with something, at least he has people looking out for him." Kasen said softly.   
"I'm back!" Luna sighed flopping down on the couch and a keyboard could be heard clicking away. "I know exactly what place you're talking about too... I had looked over the area years ago in case something like this were to happen." Luna breathed and Kasen raised his eyebrows staring at Vyron.  
"So all this time you all have just been on the defense? You all knew Kenzo's intentions and just stood by?" Kasen questioned feeling himself get worked up when he knew he shouldn't be angry with them. Vyron gritted his teeth as his eyes narrowed.   
"There is only so much we can do and you know that. If you can't maintain your composure like you did when you tortured Ayato then you need to think over your behavior and get it under control." Vyron firmly ordered as he closed his eyes as he lit a new cigar and pressed it to his lips taking a deep inhale.   
"Wait? Did I miss something? Who is that and he did what to Ayato?!" Luna questioned a smile slowly forming on her lips.  
"Cyrus's partner." Vyron sighed slowly exhaling the smoke as he leaned back in the chair as Luna let out a surprised gasp.   
"Well I can't fully accept you till I meet you, but I'll keep that in mind as extra points." Luna said smoothly as she went back to typing. Kasen sat there silently at a loss if they thought of him as a partner in both ways or picking one or the other option. Kasen definitely didn't expect that this would be how he met Cyrus's family, let alone the first impression he was giving off with this conversation.   
"You will be meeting him soon enough. We will being coming to the two of you, Kasen could be compromised and keeping him here would be incredibly stupid without Cyrus." Vyron said as he stood up. "Let me know the progress you've made once we arrive." Vyron said seriously as he nodded to Kasen to get up. "Rose, I'll be heading over with Kasen. Make sure security knows and tightens up the precautions, I'd greatly appreciate it." Vyron said in Russian calmly, sounding a bit softer when he spoke.  
"No problem at all, see you both soon." Rose responded her voice soft and still deeply emotional from the news before the call ended and Vyron motioned for Kasen to follow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your continued support and reading the resent chapter updates! More chapters will be posted soon! Just a small thing I want to go into detail on. Rose (Cyrus's mother) doesn't know how to speak English, and can only understand it to a certain extent. When I write my chapters I use italics text to show them speaking in Russian to her so she can understand and all her responses back to them would also be in Russian. That way after every time someone spoke in Russian I wouldn't have to add 'said in Russian' BUT italics don't appear to carry over to this and doesn't give me the option to add them back in. So for the moment just please keep this in mind when reading till I go back through and edit in 'said in Russian' I greatly appreciate it and understanding I didn't catch it till ready to make the post. Thing have gotten super intense in the story and is touching on some difficult topics, be prepared next chapter will still be heavy but Eleven will have a bit of a breather for everyone so something to look forward to some cute character interactions. Please feel free to comment your thoughts on the story and what you thought of the chapters or characters, I'd love to know and appreciate feed back! Thank you for reading through this long note hahaha hope you check back in for the next chapter update!


	10. Chapter Ten

Pulling up to Cyrus's family's home wasn't anything Kasen had pictured. It was a large house fully gated with more armed security then he was expecting, patrolling the ground and stationed on the roof.   
"There's so many!" Kasen breathed slowly stepping out of the car once Vyron had parked and immediately two armed guards approached the car and settled once they saw Vyron.   
"Come Kasen. If you don't stick close you will be shot down." Vyron said with a chuckle at Kasen's stunned gaze as he followed along.   
"It's heavily guarded because of Kenzo's threats isn't it?" Kasen asked carefully as his eyes swept to Vyron.  
"Yes." Vyron said coldly pausing at the front door. "But try to not bring up anything too serious, Rozalina it's already upset about Cyrus." Vyron whispered, his gaze incredibly serious.   
"I understand." Kasen breathed his head bowing slightly for a moment as Vyron unlocked the door and they entered the home. A sitting room to the right was lit with a small fire and tea was made sitting on a coffee table. After Vyron locked the door he headed into the room right away and Kasen slowly followed as he looked around taken aback. The whole place was much more vintage that he had been expecting but in a very pleasant way for his tastes. Most of the home was in reds and golds for colors and as he entered the sitting room Cyrus's mother Rozalina (Rose) sat on one end of the couch and Luna on the other. Kasen realized Cyrus definitely got his height from his mother as she was a bit shorter even then Cyrus but Kenzo was closer to 6'3". Rose had long thick wavy hair that was graying braided back out of her face and she paused turning to give them both a warm smile, paying extra close attention to Kasen. Luna on the other hand had straighter hair and pulled back into a messy bun. Her dark wine colored eyes made Kasen pause, the same shade as Kenzo and her sharper cheekbones gave more resemblance then he had been expecting. What she had on though made Kasen look away a bit uncomfortable. Luna had on a tight tank top, 'N0 Hacks G1ven' in bright red letters and mint and black striped underwear. Vyron looked confused for a moment at Kasen who suddenly decided to stare up at the ceiling before he caught on and tossed his jacket at Luna with a deep sigh as she frowned, laying it over her lap with a sigh.   
"This is my home." She said annoyed glancing at Kasen as she continued to type.   
"So you're Kasen?" Rose asked in Russian, getting to her feet and coming to a stop in front of Kasen locking her eyes with his. Kasen was surprised his mother had pale grey eye color and her features were soft and friendly. She fit the older loving mother image well Kasen thought as she placed a cup of tea in his hands.   
"I am, it's nice to meet you. You must only speak Russian is that correct?" Kasen asked gently hoping it was alright but he had noticed her listening carefully to what was being said when they had just talked in English.   
"Yes, I decided to study a different language when I was younger." Rose said with a slight embarrassed laugh. "You're not what I expected, but not in a bad way." She said with a smile watching as Kasen took a polite sip of the tea unsure what to do.  
"He looks like Cyrus's dream type, but the ones he never had the guts to try and flirt with." Luna sighed pausing what she was doing to stare right at Kasen. "So how did you meet Cyrus?" She questioned watching Kasen pause in thought and grew more curious.   
"I um... well he asked me to work for him." Kasen said slowly his brows drawing together as he shrugged in his mind knowing that it was a pretty accurate thing to say.   
"Right... where are you from?" Luna asked her head tilting as she glanced at Vyron as he looked at Kasen expectantly finding it a bit unusual that Vyron kept an air of defense still.   
"New York... well what used to be." Kasen sighed, taking one hand and running it through his hair out of nervous habit. He could feel all eyes in the room stare at him.  
"Wait, you're an American? Like as in... are you military? Like the enemy side of the war?!" Luna questioned sitting up even more waiting on edge to hear what Kasen had to say.  
"Yes?" Kasen answered a bit unsure as his face went serious as he stared down at the tea in his hands.   
"That's one way to rip off the band aid." Vyron chuckled darkly as he took a seat in one of the chairs, crossing one leg over the other. Rose blinked a few times looking over to Vyron her eyebrows raising slightly as she slowly smiled.  
"How unexpected." Rose sighed softly before sitting down on the couch, patting the spot in the middle for Kasen to come sit. A bit hesitant at first Kasen walked around and took a seat keeping his eyes on the tea cup knowing Luna was still watching him closely.   
"Ah. I just figured out who you are exactly." Luna breathed leaning back into the couch a bit as she eyed Kasen, watching him finally turn his head to her and locked eyes.  
"What do you mean?" Kasen questioned carefully, not quite sure what that meant.   
"Is your last name Blackwood?" Luna asked calmly.  
"Yes." Kasen sighed, his brows drawing together more that she knew that and a smirk formed on her lips.  
"So you threw a knife into Cyrus and now you two are together?" Luna said slowly watching Kasen just stare at her.   
"Did you look me up or something?" Kasen asked carefully, his face still serious.  
"And if I did? You gonna do something about it?" Luna asked her tone, having an edge to it.  
"N-no." Kasen said with a frown and sighed, shaking his head slightly. "Doesn't matter." He breathed before taking another drink of the tea hating for a moment how he wished it was a strong drink.   
"Kasen has quite the impressive military record. Multiple acknowledgements and metals and your rank is rather interesting. Goes into detail on some of your more current missions and orders." Luna said her eyes moving down to the computer screen smiling as she saw Kasen tense slightly.  
"Luna, don't stir up trouble." Vyron sighed watching Kasen's reaction closely as he looked at Rose as they exchanged a glance.   
"Kasen, I don't have any guest rooms prepared but you're free to use Cyrus's room till you and Vyron head out." Rose said gently and smiled at Kasen. Kasen nodded a bit taken aback hoping his face wasn't going red.  
"I appreciate anything, I don't want to impose or cause any trouble." Kasen said softly before quickly finishing off the tea.   
"Speaking of getting Cyrus." Luna sighed with a frown drawing everyone's attention to her. "I have you both scheduled for the end of the week." She said sounding defeated as she looked up tears slightly in her eyes. "I'm sorry... that's the best I could do." She whispered. Kasen slowly placed the cup on the table worried he would accidentally break it as his hands shook slightly.   
"Six days." Kasen whispered his eyes lowering to the floor as he closed them for a moment, feeling too many emotions flooding into him and struggled to push them away. "Can you take me to the room, I think I should rest for a bit." Kasen breathed and Luna slowly put the laptop aside nodding not sure what to do watching Kasen look so helpless but also like he could kill someone at the same time.   
"Yeah, follow me." Luna said softly, holding back on the tone she had used on him earlier. She nodded towards the stairs that Kasen had seen when first entering the house. Kasen silently stood numbly following her till they came to a stop outside a door. "My room is next door. Let me know if you need something." Luna said gently patting Kasen's back for only a moment before quickly heading back downstairs. Kasen opened the door and closed it behind him standing in the darkness for a long moment before switching on the light opening his eyes. Cyrus's room was all greys and blacks and his walls painted a very pale lavender. It looked a lot like his room on the base but it was still odd standing there. Kasen slowly laid down on the bed pressing a pillow into his face as he felt the hot tears finally start to pour out of his eyes. His heart ached and his chest hurt with an unfamiliar pain. It was like someone stabbed a knife into his heart and was slowly twisting it. As he sucked in a ragged breath sobbing into the pillow he picked up on the scent of green tea from Cyrus's hair and hugged it to him tighter as he curled up around it crying like he never had his whole life till he fell into a deep sleep all his energy burnt up. 

Cyrus didn't know how many hours or days had gone by. It was like blinking and seeing someone one moment and far away voices he couldn't understand and then opening his eyes after darkness to an empty room for only a few seconds. When he didn't drift back unconscious Cyrus shifted his head looking towards the window, his body aching from being unable to move. Solid metal bars on the outside cut into the blue sky. Cyrus slowly pulled at the restraints weakly feeling them just as tight as when he first found himself there.   
"Kasen..." Cyrus weakly breathed out his eyes slowly trailed back as he turned his head looking toward the door. Every part of him screaming to get out of there. Cyrus lowered his eyes to the leather strap around his wrist and pulled his thumb over slowly to his pinky trying to make his hand as narrow as possible as he gritted his teeth putting all his energy into yanking his arm towards him feeling the popping of something in his hand, his whole body to numb to register what exactly the damage was as he took shallow deep breaths before yanking harder gasping as a sharp pain shot up his arm and licked his lips as he slowly lifted his hand up free struggling to move his fingers. Cyrus drew his brows together as he focused on gripping the strap on his other wrist and carefully worked it out and undid the clasp. The next part was something he wasn't looking forward to as he struggled to grip the bed rails dragging his upper body up and down towards his legs. His brow beaded with sweat as he worked off the ankle restraints a weak smile of victory crossing his face. Cyrus laid on his back slowly pushing himself down the bed till his knees were on the floor unable to support himself with his legs yet and gasped as he dropped the rest of the way to the ground as a bed alarm suddenly went off.  
"Fucking hell." Cyrus breathed as he lifted his face off the floor tasting blood as he sniffled, blood running from his nose as he looked down at his hand already forming dark bruises from yanking it free. The sound of rushed footsteps towards his door growing closer as Cyrus dragged himself towards the window and pulled himself up to it, his face paled as he stared down at the far away ground. His room had to have been on the 8th floor of this massive hospital. Slowly Cyrus sank back down to the floor pressing his face into his hands as he struggled to force back tears. Even if he broke the glass and forced himself between the bars he would most likely not survive the drop. The door slammed open as Doctor Anderson entered, staring down Cyrus looking shocked.   
"Your medicine wasn't supposed to wear off for another two hours." She said coldly and smiled slightly as she walked over kneeling down in front of him. "Poor thing, did you think you could try to escape in the condition you're in?" She asked and paused looking down at his hand. "You broke your hand it looks like too." Doctor Anderson said darkly as she grabbed it, pressing hard pushing it all back in place watching Cyrus's distant expression slowly shift to intense pain. Cyrus felt his body give out as pain surged through him the sound of his screaming drifted to his ears from what felt like far away soon a cloth was wedged into his mouth to silence him. "Don't get me wrong Cyrus." Doctor Anderson leaned down whispering into his ear. "I do enjoy hearing and watching your reactions. I was worried I'd not take an interest in you." She said as she took Cyrus's face in her other hand forcing him to meet her eyes. This was the first time Cyrus could fully process what she looked like, dark amber hair pulled back in a neat bun, her hazel eyes studying him closely. Her lips twisted into a smirk with a nude lipstick on to match her simple but professional makeup. Cyrus put a lot of energy focusing on her face as his eyes narrowed into a glare.   
"We can either start to work on why you are in our care and help heal you or you can go back to sleep. Which would you prefer?" Doctor Anderson asked smoothly as she brushed Cyrus's hair out of his face and removed the cloth from his mouth slowly.   
"I've told you earlier, I'm not supposed to be here." Cyrus breathed trying to pull away from her but only managed a slight shift. Doctor Anderson frowned as she stood looking to the other staff in the room.   
"Get him back on the bed and restrain him. Treat his hand and give him another dose." She said evenly, moving out of the way to watch as they lifted Cyrus up and back onto the bed. Cyrus closed his eyes, hating how he couldn’t put up a fight trying to think of a different plan to escape.  
"I want to talk-" Cyrus whispered weakly, getting a satisfied smile from Doctor Anderson.   
"I'm sure you do now, but it will have to wait. I'll come to you shortly when you decide to behave." She said smoothly. Checking to make sure the straps on his wrists were as tight as they could be and his hand was bandaged well. "Soon you won't have any visible skin on your arms that isn't wrapped up." Doctor Anderson said with an amused laugh before a needle was stabbed into Cyrus's arm. Cyrus's vision began to blur as they all left the room except for him and Doctor Anderson. She slowly leaned down so her face was inches from his.   
"Sweet dreams." She breathed watching his eyes slowly close his body going limp. 

Kasen jolted awake a pained scream half out of his throat. He sat up running his fingers through his hair as he gasped for breath. There was a soft knock on the door before a phone flashlight shined in Kasen's tear filled eyes.   
"I'm sorry, is it okay I come in? I thought I'd check on you." Luna whispered and Kasen nodded ever so slightly his hands pressing over his face not wanting her to see his tears.   
"Do you have any alcohol?" Kasen breathed his voice shaking. Luna paused for a moment in the doorway.   
"Yeah, I'll be right back with it." She said quickly before dashing down the stairs and in a few moments came back in closing the door softly behind her as she made her way to Kasen sitting down on the bed and held a bottle of vodka out to him. Kasen slowly lowered his hands from his face, tears running down his checks as he unscrewed the lid and chugged down a few mouthfuls. Luna blinked watching him a bit unsure for a moment before placing her phone down so the light filled the room softly grabbing Kasen's shirt from the floor and gently dabbed at the sweat on his neck and chest.   
"You want to talk about it?" Luna softly asked concerned studying Kasen's distant expression. He took a few more drinks of the vodka before slowly wiping away some of his tears.   
"Just the usual bad dreams...I just-" Kasen began his voice trembling as he tried to fight back more tears. "I don't want to lose Cyrus." He breathed as a sob shook Kasen and he turned to Luna a bit more a bit unsure. Luna watched Kasen for a moment before understanding and gently pulled him into a hug.   
"I understand. I don't want to lose him either." Luna whispered gently, rubbing Kasen's back as he hugged her back tightly.   
"I never told him... that I love him. I'd been too afraid to admit it. And I regret it so much." Kasen sniffled and Luna gently pushed away so she could meet his eyes.  
"Then when you talk to him next make sure to tell him." Luna said gently brushing Kasen's hair back from his face. Kasen nodded a few times drawing in a shaky breath lowering his eyes to his hand holding the bottle.   
"Thank you Luna." Kasen whispered and she smiled slightly patting his shoulder.   
"We're like family now, no need to thank me." Luna said calmly as she got up off the bed and picked up her phone. "Try to get some rest Kasen. I'll see you in the morning, if you need anything just let me know." She said with a warm smile as she closed the door behind her. Kasen sat there for a few moments as he drank a few more mouthfuls and fumbled for his phone. His brows drew together as he focused on the screen carefully selecting the person he wanted to call. As the phone rang Kasen's heart picked up growing nervous as he drank down even more of the vodka until a familiar and tired voice picked up.   
"Hey, sorry to wake you." Kasen said quietly into the phone as he listened closely for a response. There was a slight inhale for a moment before anything was said.   
"Kasen are you drunk? There is a lisp in your voice." Freya said carefully as the sound of her shifting to sit up could be heard.   
"I guess I am." Kasen breathed looking down at the almost finished bottle. "There is a lot I should say to you." Kasen began a bit unsure and sniffled slightly.  
"What's going on? Did something happen? Kasen, you haven't reported anything to the Director since you left." Freya said seriously and Kasen swallowed hard.   
"I'm going to ask something selfish and you can say no, I'll understand." Kasen said carefully as he took a deep breath. "I'd like to keep this conversation between just the two of us." Kasen said seriously and Freya hummed frowning in thought.   
"Really depends. I can't make any promises so might as well just tell me." She said evenly. Kasen took another few gulps of the vodka finishing off the bottle and setting it aside.   
"You're my family and I know things are not where they should be between us. I-i've fallen in love, Freya. I tried so hard to keep the line there and be professional... I just care about him too much." Kasen said quickly, closing his eyes tightly as he finished talking.   
"Cyrus? You're confessing to me that you love him?" Freya questioned carefully, her tone hard to read.   
"Yes." Kasen whispered, slowly opening his eyes taking in the darkness of Cyrus's room.  
"Why are you crying if you're going on about loving our enemy? Is it because you have to bring him back?" Freya questioned, causing Kasen's breath to catch.   
"I-I want to protect him." Kasen whispered, not able to bring himself to say that currently Cyrus was completely gone and he didn't have the one person he was tasked to keep close at all times. Freya sighed as she listened to Kasen.   
"You're going to lose everything Kasen, you understand that right? Anyone finds out that you two are close, everything is over." Freya said seriously.   
"I do understand that... but that doesn't change anything. I've found what I've been missing in my life." Kasen breathed softly.   
"I'm sorry Kasen." Freya sighed as she flopped down on her back getting under her covers again. "Look you're family to me too, I can try only up to a point to support you Kasen. This is serious...I don't know what else to say." Freya said seriously pressing her lips together in thought. "You need to make a report to Ravencroft, right now it looks like you've gone rouge okay?" Freya questioned.  
"In a few days I can. Right now isn't a good time." Kasen said as his voice shook as his thoughts flooded with Cyrus being gone again.   
"What do you mean now isn't a good time? What are you not saying?" Freya questioned confused.   
"I'm sorry, I hope next time we talk things are better." Kasen breathed before hanging up, shoving his phone aside as he pulled the covers up around him hugging Cyrus's pillow tightly to his chest as his eyes closed, falling into deep sleep within moments.

Cyrus came to, rather abruptly. His memory felt like a dream when he thought about Kasen and home, as well as getting off the bed and looking out the window. Cyrus slowly blinked as his eyes began to focus, his bed was raised so he was sitting up a strap around his chest, keeping him against the bed. A trey laid on a small table in front of him with food long gone cold. Cyrus slowly looked down at his freed hands and slowly reached out for the food his hand pausing as his eyes rested on the knife. Cyrus's brows slowly drew together as his breathing staggered trying to pull his gaze back to the food and grabbed the spoon dipping it into the mashed potatoes, carefully shoving it into his mouth. Even though it was cold and bland he was thankful to finally be eating something, his stomach giving a weak growl as he allowed himself to finally feel hunger. Cyrus took one mouth full after another and slowly placed down the spoon, his fingers brushing over the knife and he slowly lifted it up, pressing his thumb out of habit to check how sharp it was. Cyrus paused for a long moment as his thoughts began to overwhelm his mind. 'What if he just let go of everything?' Cyrus thought to himself as tears filled his eyes as he moved the knife close and closer to his left arm before clenching his teeth and tossed it aside hearing it clink against the floor as he felt his chest heave hyperventilating as he pressed his hands to his face. The door slowly opened and heels clicked against the floor.  
"I'm surprised, you clearly want to self harm but you managed to have self control. Why did you stop?" Doctor Anderson asked smoothly as she pulled up a chair next to the bed watching Cyrus closely.   
"You hoped I would, that would make your job so much easier." Cyrus breathed between gasps trying to focus as he wiped his tears away. Doctor Anderson chucked as she leaned back in her chair opening a file on her lap, her eyes trailing over it.  
"Tell me about your childhood." She said calmly as she crossed one leg over the other.   
"What about it?" Cyrus questioned his eyes moving to her with a cold stare. "I was trained and watched and trained some more." Cyrus replied evenly, sniffling slightly. Doctor Anderson sighed as she folded her hands together.   
"You lived on the base with Kenzo?" Doctor Anderson asked calmly watching the way Cyrus frowned slightly. "I want you to describe a normal day you experienced growing up." She said calmly looking back down to the file. Cyrus paused looking away as he thought over what she asked him to talk about. It was something he had to work to fully remember and something he never talked about.  
"What do I get if I tell you?" Cyrus questioned evenly glaring at Doctor Anderson as his hands slowly tightened on the sheet.   
"You will get a few hours of awake time and more food." She said with a smile closing the file. "So shall we begin?" Doctor Anderson asked smoothly.  
"I want to also make a phone call." Cyrus said sharply, staring her down. "You aren't allowed to have communication with the outside." Doctor Anderson said seriously as her eyes narrowed slightly. "I'll think it over so start talking Cyrus, my patience won't last long." She said darkly. Cyrus gritted his teeth as he looked away.  
"A normal day. Fine." Cyrus hissed as he tried to shift slightly to be more comfortable. "I'd wake, get ready. Reporting to training, Kenzo oversaw everything. If I didn't perform well enough to his standards I'd be punished. Then labs were done and then I went back to training. Run a few miles and then practice marksmanship. Then Kenzo would check in and would take corrective action if I had made any mistakes. I wasn't allowed to stop practicing till I hit 50 perfect shots in a row. Next I could go to bed and start over the next day." Cyrus said softly with a frown.  
"How did Kenzo punish you?" Doctor Anderson asked calmly as she took a few notes watching how Cyrus's knuckles were white from gripping the sheet.  
"Depends on how angry he was. He would start with saying things he knew would make me upset, then physically step in." Cyrus breathed glaring, hating having to talk about it especially to this lady. Doctor Anderson tapped her pen on the paper in thought for a few moments as she looked over Cyrus.   
"And his behavior has never changed? Does he still act this way today towards you?" Doctor Anderson asked calmly as Cyrus turned his head to meet her eyes with a cold glare.  
"No he hasn't changed. Why would he ever change?" Cyrus snapped letting out a frustrated sigh as he turned to look out the window. Doctor Anderson let out a thoughtful hum as she opened back up the file slowly.   
"Says you have struggled with self harm and suicidal behavior since you were young. Why did you want to die?" She asked calmly as Cyrus tensed.  
"I never said I wanted to die. I just didn't want to exist or live the life I had." Cyrus breathed his tone defensive. Doctor Anderson stared at Cyrus for a long moment before taking another note.   
"And is your life now a life you find worth living?" Doctor Anderson questioned smoothly. Cyrus gritted his teeth as he looked down at his hands slowly easing his grip.   
"I think so?" Cyrus breathed out not wanting to look to her as he heard her stand and talk closer to him.  
"Then why did you cut your arms?" Doctor Anderson asked grabbing Cyrus's arm as she began to unwrap the bandage as she grabbed him by the jaw forcing him to look at the long scar.   
"I didn't." Cyrus breathed and Doctor Anderson shoved his arm away as she gripped his jaw tighter.   
"Then who did? Because multiple people reported seeing you do it." She said evenly, staring him down. Cyrus stared back at her confused and unsure as he swallowed hard.   
"I don't understand. I didn't-" Cyrus began as she pressed her finger to his lip to silence him annoyed.   
"I've told you that you need to stop lying to me if you want to stay awake." Doctor Anderson said darkly as she let go of Cyrus's jaw. "Who is Kasen?" Doctor Anderson asked with a sigh as she sat back down in the chair.  
"Why?" Cyrus questioned defensively, trying his best to keep calm as his eyes moved to the door wondering if he could slip the restraints fast enough to get out of the room.  
"Because you've been saying the name ever since you've arrived off and on. Must be someone important, but how important to you I want to know." Doctor Anderson said evenly as she tapped her pen again waiting.  
"Then I suppose you better get used to not knowing." Cyrus breathed glaring at her as his heart picked up thinking about Kasen.   
"Then you will no longer get more food." Doctor Anderson sighed with a frown.  
"I guess I'm going hungry." Cyrus responded evenly giving her a cold stare as she closed the file standing with it.   
"I'll ask again next time we talk." Doctor Anderson smoothly said with a smirk as she lifted a syringe tapping it a few times before squirting out the air bubbles before injecting it into Cyrus's arm laying the bed back down as Cyrus's vision went dark, slipping under.

Kasen sat at the kitchen table chugging back the cup of coffee sitting before him before getting to his feet and checked with one of the security guards before taking a run around the property. He needed to keep moving, Kasen told himself or he wasn't doing enough. He ran until his lungs burned in the cold air and sweat ran down his forehead before entering the house. Luna sat on the stairs waiting as he walked in her with a serious expression.  
"Kasen, come with me. I want to show you something before everyone wakes up." Luna whispered as she stood dressed in black leggings and a bra, her hair loose down her back. Kasen nodded slightly, pulling up his shirt to wipe his brow as he followed her up the stairs.   
"Do you want me to change first?" Kasen breathed softly as Luna shrugged slightly.  
"You think I care if you smell sweaty? You just did multiple laps around the house. Looks like you're going crazy." She chuckled pushing open her door as Kasen followed. He stopped a few steps in after Luna closed the door behind them in shock at the wall of screens hooked up to a few different computers below her massive desk, the keyboards and mouses all glowing in different colors as she pointed to her nice chair.   
"Sit." Luna said softly and Kasen slowly did as she told looking to her a bit unsure.   
"What is this about?" Kasen asked carefully as Luna came to stand next to him.   
"I may have looked into something I shouldn't have... and I want to show you some of it." Luna sighed, running her fingers through her hair to keep it out of her face. Kasen looked at her confused and nodded slightly as she leaned over him and pressed a few keys on the keyboard as a few videos came up onto the screens, one of them blinking live. Kasen leaned forward as his lips parted his eyes on Cyrus.  
"Is this?" Kasen breathed and Luna nodded slightly pressing her lips together.   
"It's bad Kasen." Luna whispered as she began to play back the footage. The first one was when Cyrus first came to and even though the sound didn't move through Kasen sat there frozen watching Cyrus sob and fight until the medication the injected into him put him under. Luna then put on Cyrus breaking his hand getting out of the restraints and forcing his way to the window and Kasen's hands slowly tightened on the chair armrests as he watched the lady in the lab coat closely. It was clear everyone was listening to her orders and gritted his teeth looking over Cyrus's tear streaked face and the look in his eyes. Kasen's eyes fell on the last footage, live connection to the room, Cyrus laying there unmoving his breath shallow.  
"So they're keeping him drugged up?" Kasen whispered as he pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose as his voice shook tears close to spilling over.  
"I watched everything." Luna whispered her eyes moving to the floor. "Cyrus is fighting but I'm worried, what if he actually breaks? Do you think he is holding onto hope that you're coming?" Luna asked softly concerned as her eyes went back to the screen. Kasen swallowed hard, drawing a deep breath as he lifted his head staring at Cyrus and frowned as the door opened and Doctor Anderson walked in leaning over the bed as she looked Cyrus over for a moment before injecting him with a small syringe.   
"What did she just do?" Kasen questioned his eyes widening.   
"That's how they've been controlling waking him up before the drug wears off." Luna said softly as she bit at her lip just as worried as Kasen. 

Cyrus came slowly, it seemed to be getting harder and his brows drew tightly together as he took a shallow deep breath.   
"You're killing me slowly aren't you." Cyrus breathed as his eyes landed on Doctor Anderson.  
"Ah I see you're finally awake." She said with a smile as she pulled out a small paper as she began to write on it. "Is this how you spell it?" Doctor Anderson asked calmly, holding up the paper. 'Kasen' written out on it. Cyrus frowned as his eyes moved over the paper and back to her, staring her down in silence. Doctor Anderson sighed as she stood sitting on the edge of the bed next to Cyrus as she pointed to the paper between them. "Tell me about who this Kasen is." She said calmly, taking Cyrus by the jaw as she trailed her fingers across his lips slowly watching his eyes narrow defensively. "Is Kasen a man?" Doctor Anderson asked smoothly as she leaned in closer. "Are you close?" She whispered. Cyrus tried to pull his jaw from her hold pressing his lips together to stop her from opening his mouth with her thumb. Doctor Anderson frowned slowly letting go as she began to fold up the paper.   
"You do understand even if I'm right, he would never be able to come for you. This place has armed security, and no one is allowed visitors unless they are looked into. What my point is, no one is coming to save you. So you resisting is pointless." She said smoothly watching the way Cyrus sat there incredibly still his eyes lowering in thought. Cyrus debated back and forth over if there was even a way for Kasen to show up. He didn't expect him to break him out, especially if this place was as guarded as they said. 'Does that really mean I won't ever see him again?' Cyrus thought to himself as he bit down on his lip hard trying to hold back his emotions. With his head all groggy, every emotion he felt was so intense from being able to focus on nothing else that Cyrus felt embarrassed how easily he cried.   
"You're lying." Cyrus breathed trying to swallow back his tears. Doctor Anderson leaned back laughing coldly as she shook her head, her expression a humored pitied look.   
"Oh Cyrus, I have no reason to lie to you. And you know that what I'm saying is true or you wouldn't be getting so worked up about it." She said smoothly.   
"You know nothing about my life, you think you have it all figured out and who would do what, but you don't!" Cyrus yelled gasping for breath as his head fell back against the pillow, the room spinning.  
"Don't wear yourself out, you were just starting to make things interesting." Doctor Anderson said with a sigh as she leaned down over Cyrus. "No one is coming to save you. Give in." She whispered into his ear softly watching the defensive expression Cyrus tried to keep on his face around her begin to crumble away. Doctor Anderson smiled satisfied, she finally found something that made Cyrus vulnerable. "Let me know when you admit there is no way out, no one to save you. And your best hope is to tell me everything before it's too late for you." She said darkly with a smirk.  
"Too late?" Cyrus breathed his voice shaking as he stared her down his breathing fast and shallow.  
"Well of course, the only way out of here for you is in a casket." Doctor Anderson laughed, patting his head. Cyrus laid there numbly as he stared up at her, his face dropping into a fearful expression.  
"So won't you tell me why you have found a reason to live, is that reason Kasen?" Doctor Anderson asked with a smirk watching tears come to his eyes as she slowly pulled out another paper opening it up slowly and showing it to him. "Kenzo sent me this today, he said it would be important to show you that Kasen has been executed for being a spy." She said calmly, watching Cyrus's eyes slowly move over the paper and shook his head in denial. At the bottom was a note written in Kenzo's handwriting. 'Did you think he would survive here without your help? Your childish dreams put him in the ground. Remember that when you find yourself never waking up again.' It read and Cyrus's face paled as he watched her move the paper away slipping it into his file. Cyrus's lip trembled as he could feel himself breaking down and wanted anything to be able to pull his hands to his face to hide. Overwhelming guilt flooded through him and pain as he began to sob uncomfortably and slowly Doctor Anderson undid his hand restraints watching Cyrus immediately press them to his face sucking in ragged breaths. She gently pet his head watching him with a smirk as she slowly placed a thin knife on the desk next to the bed before brushing Cyrus's hands away and wiped his cheeks as more hot tears spilled down them.   
"You clearly loved him very much to shed this much tears. I'm sorry. I'll give you some time to accept it and then I'll return so we can actually begin our work." Doctor Anderson said gently as she stood leaving the room. Cyrus curled up on this side as best as he could with his ankles still strapped down as he pulled the blankets tight over his head, tears pouring down his face.

Kasen stood sharply trying to make out what it said on the paper.   
"Is there any way you can zoom in or something?" Kasen asked quickly as he watched Cyrus break and the tears streaming down his face. Kasen felt helpless and his chest hurt wanting to be there right now as Luna quickly began typing as the image zoomed and she struggled to get it to become more crisp. Kasen was able to read just enough to understand what it said and quickly wiped at his eyes as rage bubbled up inside.   
"Fuck!" Kasen yelled as his hands slammed down on the desk and he took shaky breaths as he ran his fingers up through his hair trying to think.  
"She left a knife in the room with him." Luna breathed as she continued to watch closely.  
"Do you think Cyrus would actually kill himself if he believed I was dead?" Kasen questioned seriously meeting Luna's unsure eyes.   
"Cyrus is difficult to read and most of all he doesn't let people know much about his depression or what all goes on in his mind. He is impulsive though, it's hard for him to control himself when he throws away everything." Luna breathed tears coming to her eyes. She sat down quickly going to work as she pulled out her cellphone plugging it in. " I have an idea but it's going to be difficult okay?" Luna said as she glanced to Kasen pacing around the room. He turned to her sharply and nodded quickly.   
"I don't care what it is, I can't lose him." Kasen said evenly, his voice shaking. Luna paused studying Kasen for a moment before pressing the call button and passed the phone to him as she began to type faster.   
Cyrus could barely breathe from how hard he was crying and the sound of a phone ringing nearby drifted to his ears and he slowly popped his head out of the blankets looking to a phone hooked up to his bed ringing and stared at it for quite some time numbly before slowly picking it up pressing it to his ear silently except for his sniffles. He pulled the pillow down under the blanket so he could hug it close.  
"Cyrus?" Kasen breathed trying to make his voice sound calm. "Hey it's me, everything is going to be okay." Kasen breathed gently watching Cyrus closely on the screen.   
Cyrus blinked slowly as his heart skipped a beat hearing Kasen's voice.   
"How... do I know this is real?" Cyrus questioned, his voice soft and trembling. Kasen lowered his eyes to the floor trying to think fast as Luna motioned for him to hurry.  
"I told you that you're more beautiful than flowers, but I should have told you that I love you. I fucking love you so please don't give up." Kasen said half way through his voice began to tremble as he began to cry. "And I'm even crying, you know I hate being emotional but that's just how I am because I care so deeply about you-" Kasen stammered hearing Cyrus draw a shallow breath as he sniffled again listening. "I'm with your uh hacker, in case they can listen in. And I did as you told me when you didn't come back and went to uh 'patches'?" Kasen said quickly, unsure about the codename he just gave Vyron. "And Patches and I are going to break you out. I swear on my life Snipes." Kasen breathed hearing Cyrus exhale a slight chuckle in it.   
"What do I call you then huh?" Cyrus breathed softly. Kasen paused, running his hand over his scar in thought.   
"Sexy is fine, you already call me that." Kasen said softly, smiling through his tears. Cyrus closed his eyes as his breathing began to steady.   
"I don't want to wake up if this is a dream." Cyrus whispered, wiping at his tears.   
"I promise you this is real. And you will come home with me." Kasen said gently. "I love you Cyrus." Kasen whispered. Cyrus cuddled up under the blankets as he smiled slightly listening to Kasen closely.  
"I miss you. I love you too. Don't stop surprising me sexy." Cyrus breathed as his eyes opened hearing footsteps down the hall. "What is today? How long till you come?" Cyrus breathed quickly feeling the time slipping away.  
"Thursday. I come tomorrow." Kasen said evenly his eyes following Cyrus's gaze to the door as a shadow slipped across the floor under the door as someone paused outside.   
"I'm scared." Cyrus whispered softly as his voice trembled.  
"You're the strongest man I know. Everything will be okay. You can make it till I get there tomorrow. I know you can. Don't forget that you're stronger than you even know-" Kasen said quickly as the door opened and Luna disconnected the call as fast as possible plugging in a chip to the computer as she continued to type quickly her face tense with focus. Kasen slowly sank down to sit on the floor numbly, Luna had actually managed to get the call in. He looked over to her as she slowly let her hands fall to her side looking to Kasen relieved. "I managed to keep them locked out the whole time and prevent their trace to work. They are completely in the dark about the whole thing." Luna breathed as tears fell down her eyes as she knelt in front of Kasen and tackled him into a hug breaking down in tears. Kasen gently hugged her, rubbing her back thinking of Freya and rested his head on her shoulder.   
"Thank you." Kasen breathed and Luna nodded gently squeezing him in the hug before gently letting go sitting back.   
"Did he sound alright? I mean he took it well?" Luna asked worried and Kasen nodded ever so slightly.  
"I hope so." He breathed looking back to the screen and saw Luna had closed out of everything and wished he could sit there and keep an eye on Cyrus all day. There was a knock on the door and Luna stood walking over to it finding Vyron standing there eyeing them skeptically.   
"What's going on? I thought I heard shouting a bit ago." Vyron sighed tiredly as he looked to Kasen sitting on Luna's floor carefully get to his feet, watching where he stepped so he wouldn't trip on the cords running across her floor as he ran his fingers through his messy hair almost all of it falling in front of his eyes now. "You look disgusting." Vyron said looking Kasen over, Kasen's shirt almost dry from the sweat of working out and his hair greasy from it too.  
"I'm sorry?" Kasen began as Vyron grabbed him by the front of the shirt pulling him out of Luna's room.   
"Go shower." Vyron said evenly, watching Kasen stare at him taken aback for a moment before walking down the hall for the bathroom. Vyron turned to Luna with a deep sigh, smirking slightly as she met his gaze with an eyebrow raised.   
"You enjoy watching him be intimated by you don't you." Luna asked, shaking her head as she rolled her eyes slightly. Vyron chuckled as he looked down the hall to the bathroom as the shower clicked on.   
"He has a bit of a temper. And I don't fully trust him. I would like to look over his file but that's something only you can give me access to." Vyron sighed as he placed a cigar between his lips lighting it. Luna sighed rocking back on her heels in thought.   
"If it makes you feel better then fine. I honestly don't think he is faking his feelings for Cyrus though." Luna said softly, getting a nod from Vyron.  
"I don't think so either. But that doesn't mean there could be someone that can influence Kasen that he trusts that could get Cyrus killed." Vyron sighed slowly exhaling the smoke. Luna nodded in thought as she printed off Kasen's files and passed it to Vyron with a sigh.   
"There but try to be a bit more delicate?" She asked gently, getting a smirk from Vyron.   
"You're getting soft towards him now? He isn't part of the family until he proves himself fully to me." Vyron said seriously and Luna chuckled.  
"You're being over protective? It's hilarious. When Cyrus comes home they're gonna sleep on the opposite side of the house?" Luna joked watching Vyron paused, his eyes widened slightly in thought.   
"Don't give me ideas." He said jokingly before heading downstairs.


	11. Chapter Eleven

Doctor Anderson just stepped in after Cyrus had arranged himself back under the blankets cuddling up his arms around his head as he laid there still processing that Kasen was alive and just called moments after he was told he was dead. Cyrus reminded himself that Kasen was with Luna and she must have been looking for him, reassured that it was all true. One more day he repeated in his head and knew he needed to keep his acting up if they didn't know about the phone call.   
"You haven't moved for quite some time from under the blankets, I wanted to check on you." Doctor Anderson said smoothly as her heels clicked walking close to Cyrus. Cyrus reflexively gripped the sheets hoping she wouldn't try and pull them away.   
"Leave me alone." Cyrus whispered softly, sniffling loudly to make it seem like he was still crying and Anderson sighed deeply.  
"Hiding all day under the blankets won't help you, sooner or later you will have to come to peace with Kasen’s death. Hopefully before yours comes." She said with a chuckle as he heard the syringe get flicked a few times. Cyrus shifted hugging the pillow as he pushed it up past his shoulder laying still as he pressed his arm down against the bed. Cyrus jolted as the needle was pressed down and watched as it went into the pillow his eyes widened relieved as she pulled it out and turned walking away.   
"I'll check in on you shortly." She said calmly as the door shut. Cyrus didn't dare move knowing that would be a give away but shifted as slightly as he could to move the pillow so she wouldn't be able to figure it out. As the door opened sometime later Cyrus woke from his nap quickly closing his eyes as he made sure to lay limp as the blanket was pulled back and two people pulled him onto his back strapping his wrists back down before tucking the blanket around Cyrus's chest before leaving the door shut. Cyrus kept his eyes close as he tried to relax, focusing on his breathing soft and steady. He drifted asleep off and on till he shifted slightly as morning light filtered in through the room. The door opened as heels clicked across the floor followed by another set, the voices more quiet.   
"What do you mean there are guests cleared for today? Kenzo didn't tell me anything about him coming for a visit." Doctor Anderson sighed frustrated as the person with her turned pages slowly with a hum.   
"Well they have the clearance, the names were left out for privacy. Who else can do that but him." A man said calmly as the shoes walked to the bed.   
"Besides you have been keeping him under so there won't be any issues." The man said poking the tip of Cyrus's nose with a dark chuckle. "Come we have work to do." The man said evenly walking out and Doctor Anderson slowly followed, looking at Cyrus over her shoulder for a moment. Her eyes narrowed slightly before closing the door. Cyrus couldn't hold back the smile from slowly spreading across his mouth as his heart picked up. Kasen really was coming. Cyrus took a slow steady breath to collect himself as he waited. 

Kasen sat in the car on edge waiting for Vyron as Luna pressed some ID cards she had carefully made all night long and Kasen figured it was extra caution after the videos they had seen. Vyron walked out of the house cigar in mouth followed by Rose standing in the doorway. Kasen watched closely as Vyron removed the cigar from his mouth exhaling the smoke away from Rose before leaning down kissing her softly and quietly talking to her for a moment. Kasen paused as he thought over Cyrus's statement of considering Vyron his dad as his eyebrows raised. Vyron gently brushed away a few tears from Rose's cheeks before placing the cigar in his mouth and waving goodbye as he headed to the car looking over to Kasen. Kasen quickly lowered his gaze unsure if he was stepping in too much into their personal life by seeing that as he shifted running his fingers through his hair anxious to see Cyrus. Vyron sighed as he got into the car, starting it up. His face shadowed and serious as he clicked on the radio turning the music up as he began to drive in silence.   
"If things go bad are we grabbing and running? We shooting our way out? What's the plan?" Kasen questioned as he bounced his leg up and down nervously.  
"Depends on a lot of things, we will need to pay close attention to everything as we are walking in and to Cyrus." Vyron said evenly as he finished off his cigar and started another right away. Kasen nodded slightly hoping that everything would be okay till they were able to get Cyrus out. 

After a few hours a massive hospital building loomed up ahead, fully gated and guarded and Kasen shifted sitting up as he looked it over.   
"Oh my god." He breathed as he looked over the barbed wire fences and armed guards in shock.  
"This is just a hospital right? Why is it like a prison?" Kasen breathed and Vyron frowned, his hands tightening on the wheel.   
"Don't panic, you need to keep your head level." Vyron said softly as they pulled up to the gate and he scanned the badge Luna gave and it opened immediately. "I don't know what she did, but she did a good job." Vyron said with a slight smile as they pulled into a parking spot. Kasen nodded, his eyes narrowed slightly.  
"I know, let's just get this done as quickly as possible." Kasen sighed as they got out of the car walking inside using the same badges to enter the building. The lady at the receptionist counter looked up to them taken aback and plastered a smile on her face.   
"Do you two have a guest appointment?" The lady asked with a peppy voice. Vyron held up his ID card, his face incredibly serious as he stared her down. Kasen watched her eyebrows raised surprised as she read it over and then looked on the computer for the appointment. Kasen was now very curious as to what the ID cards said, he hadn't looked his over before shoving it into his pocket.   
"Ah I see your apartment right here Sir, you may head to 9th floor, room number 908." She said with a huge smile and Vyron nodded as he turned without saying a word to the stairs and Kasen quickly followed as he caught on that elevators were not an option. They took the steps two at a time and by the time Kasen hit the 9th floor he was breathing deep shaky breaths and looked to Vyron as he whipped his brows drawing a deep sigh before they opened the door and headed straight towards room 908. Kasen paused as he recognized a woman standing at the counter from the video and his eyes narrowed slightly. His blood ran cold as her eyes raised meeting his and her eyes followed their direction to Cyrus's door as she quickly began to round the counter walking towards them.   
"I'm sorry, you have to be cleared to enter this room." She said evenly, looking them over. Kasen's hands slowly tightened at his sides as Vyron frowned.  
"We are cleared, how about you go check before getting in my way." Vyron said darkly, his eyes narrowing. Doctor Anderson shifted as she held a folder tighter in her hands and Kasen slowly lowered his eyes to it and reached out taking it before she could react, a few staff getting up as Doctor Anderson let out a sharp gasp. Kasen opened it looking down at Cyrus's information and her notes, his eyes narrowed.   
"How interesting." Kasen breathed, tapping his finger over the dosages. "Why are you raising the amount?" Kasen questioned, evenly raising his eyes to meet hers. Doctor Anderson gritted her teeth.  
"Only patient's family members are allowed to look over medical records." She snapped and Vyron chuckled, taking them from Kasen's hands.   
"Perfect. Then I will be looking these over closely." Vyron said evenly as his eye swept over the pages quickly.   
"Family as in his father, Kenzo Kaimyo." Doctor Anderson growled, her eyes narrowing. "I don't know who you are or how you were able to get past security but you're not allowed access." She said smoothly with a dark smile. Vyron raised his eye to meet her's, he slowly closed the file and reached into his pocket pulling out a paper.  
"This is a duplicate if you get any unprofessional ideas to shred it." Vyron sighed as he handed it over. Doctor Anderson looked over the paper closely, her face becoming confused as she looked back up to Vyron. "I'm discharging Cyrus." Vyron said evenly as his eye landed on Kasen. "Go get him." Vyron ordered and Kasen nodded pushing past Doctor Anderson as she tried to stop him and entered the room shutting the door behind him before he ran to Cyrus.  
Cyrus's eyes opened as soon as he heard someone running to him blinking up at Kasen feeling like he must be dreaming.  
"I have no idea what Vyron brought with him but you are coming home." Kasen breathed as he quickly undid the restraints and walked to the closet and drawers searching for Cyrus clothing and pulled them out. "Can you stand?" Kasen questioned as he began helping Cyrus out of the hospital gown.  
"I'm not sure." Cyrus breathed as he struggled to raise his arms and Kasen nodded helping change him into his clothes looking over the torn off sleeves of Cyrus's shirt his teeth grinding before he tilted up Cyrus's chin kissing him quickly and sloppy.   
"I'm sorry." Kasen breathed, before slipping on Cyrus's boots and laced them up tightly. Cyrus blinked at Kasen, his face red from the kiss.   
"Why are you apologizing?" Cyrus whispered, staring at Kasen like he would disappear if he closed his eyes for too long.   
"I promised I'd protect you... and I failed." Kasen breathed his voice shaking and Cyrus blinked tears coming to his eyes slightly.  
"I don't blame you for anything. It's not your fault I got separated from you and there was nothing you could do. You haven't failed." Cyrus said gently, smiling softly at Kasen as he was scooped up into his arms, and hugged him back as tightly as he could manage before Kasen pushed open the door with Cyrus in his arms. Doctor Anderson stood there looking to Cyrus and then to Kasen, a look crossing her face.   
Vyron nodded to Cyrus before he glared back at Doctor Anderson and a few other staff that had begun to gather.   
"This paper can't be real." Doctor Anderson persisted and Vyron shrugged.   
"Get Kenzo's blood and it will be clear enough for anyone. Until then you have no right to hold Cyrus. We are leaving." Vyron growled as he turned, kicking open the door to the stairs as Kasen followed close behind. An alarm began to go off half way down the stairs and Cyrus pressed into Kasen.  
"Everything is going to be okay." Kasen breathed as they reached the bottom and stepped out into the lobby, armed men standing at the ready.   
"This is ridiculous." Vyron muttered as he looked to Kasen. "Run to the car and get Cyrus out of here." Vyron ordered and Kasen paused, his eyes widening.   
"What? I'm not leaving you behind." Kasen snapped as Cyrus looked to Vyron reaching out in a moment of seconds grabbing one of Vyron's guns from the chest holster. Kasen's eyes widened as he was unable to react fast enough, surprise Cyrus was able to even move like that all of a sudden. Cyrus pointed the gun shooting the security camera before aiming at the guards before any of them could process what had happened, shooting them in the legs as they dropped to the ground in pain.   
"Use their own guns to finish them." Cyrus breathed as Vyron swiftly acted, yanking a gun from the closest one and shooting them all down as he tossed the gun aside as they took off through the doors and into the parking lot. Kasen quickly ducked in, holding Cyrus tight as Vyron started up the car. The tires screeched as Vyron hit the gas to the floor ramming through the gate and swerved for a few moments before recovering, spending off down the road. Vyron let out a tired chuckled reaching across to take the gun from Cyrus, making sure it was cleared and on safety before slipping it back into the holder.   
"That was one way to do it. How are you?" Vyron asked gently, glancing over to Cyrus now and then.  
Cyrus cuddled into Kasen, not wanting to let go yet.   
"I'm alive, still." Cyrus breathed closing his eyes as he turned pressing his face into Kasen's chest drawing a shaky breath. "I was afraid I wouldn't see either one of you again." Cyrus whispered and Kasen shifted his arms to cradle Cyrus's running his fingers through his hair gently. Vyron hummed in thought as he reached over giving Cyrus's leg a soft pat not sure what to say as he continued to drive. Kasen pressed his face against Cyrus's head, his heart still racing from the whole thing and let out a tired sigh.  
Cyrus fell asleep off and on, his grip on Kasen never loosening as they arrived back at the house. Kasen carefully got out of the car looking down at Cyrus softly breathing as he slept relaxed against him. They quietly entered the house to Rose and Luna waiting and they quickly fell silent as they looked to Cyrus in Kasen's arms. Rose walked over gently lifting Cyrus's arm that fell down to hang limp as he slept and paused as she looked over the sleeve and the long scar on his arm from elbow to wrist.   
"Is the other arm the same?" Rose whispered in Russian and Kasen nodded ever so slightly looking down at Cyrus his eyes clouded with worry. Rose pressed a soft kiss to Cyrus's forehead as Luna walked over looking from Cyrus up to Kasen.   
"You actually did it." She breathed before looking at Vyron giving him an expecting look.   
"Yes, Kasen can be considered part of the family if that is okay with Rose and Kasen." Vyron sighed quietly as he lit a cigar turned away slightly giving Kasen a cold stare. Rose beamed up at Kasen gently rubbing his thumb to his cheek.  
"You take care of him well Kasen." Rose said softly in Russian.   
"I will." Kasen responded in Russian with a shy smile before looking over at the stairs, his arms starting to get tired. "I'm going to head upstairs with him. Get him in the bed and make sure he is alright." Kasen said calmly in Russian before heading up the stairs. Once to Cyrus's room he gently tucked him in before laying down next to him cuddling him close till he drifted asleep as well.


	12. Chapter Twelve

Cyrus slowly began to wake his feet shifting slightly as he drew a slow breath, sighing softly before his eyes began to flutter open. As his gaze fell on Kasen's sleeping face inches from him Cyrus couldn't help but slowly smile blushing as he gazed at him affectionately. Cyrus's memories about what all lead to waking up in the bed becoming more clear and less like a dream but he couldn't remember much of the car ride and carefully kissed Kasen's soft lips. Cyrus smiled even wider as he added a few more kisses to Kasen's lips trying to hold back an overjoyed squeak before quickly hugging Kasen pulling him close, burning his face into his neck. Kasen's breathing shifted as his arms slowly moved around Cyrus hugging him tightly as he began to wake.   
"Cyrus?" Kasen whispered gently as Cyrus tilted his face against Kasen's neck as he began to gently kiss up and down it slowly sucking on a spot he picked out his teeth gently bit the skin as he trailed his tongue over the spot as he sucked. Kasen slowly sighed his head shifting to make more room for Cyrus closing his eyes, a smile on his lips.   
"Are you leaving a mark?" Kasen breathed as he trailed his fingers up Cyrus's back.  
"I'm telling the world that I'm yours and that I love you." Cyrus breathed against Kasen's lips before kissing him passionately. Kasen couldn't press Cyrus any tighter against him as he put all his emotions into the kisses Cyrus and him were exchanging. Cyrus sighed softly into the kisses as his fingers ran through Kasen's hair gently and slid his fingers back through Kasen's hair in soothing motion.   
"I don't know what I would have done... if you weren't in my life." Cyrus whispered as he pulled back slightly so he could search Kasen's pale green eyes. Kasen's breath caught for a moment as he gazed back into Cyrus's deep ebony eyes as he thought over Cyrus's words.   
"I'm thankful our paths crossed... crazy enough." Kasen breathed, as he drew a shaky breath. Cyrus paused in thought, his eyes trailing over every inch of Kasen's face and gently ran his hand down over the scars ever so gently.   
"Strange how things work out huh?" Cyrus breathed softly. He pressed his forehead to Kasen's closing his eyes as he softly rubbed his nose against his for a moment, a smile on his lips. Kasen gently held Cyrus protectively as his hand rested on the back of his head cradling him as they laid in content silence.   
A knock on the door made Cyrus jolt his hand reflexively tightening on Kasen's shirt as his breath caught in his throat. His ebony eyes widened as he sat up quickly in panic.   
"I'm coming in." Vyron sighed tiredly from the other side as the door slowly opened. Cyrus quickly turned his head away from Kasen and Vyron's view drawing a shaky breath. His heartbeat that was racing slowly calmed down.   
"Hey you okay?" Kasen questioned softly as he sat up looking from Cyrus to Vyron a bit unsure as he gently placed his hand on Cyrus's back.   
"Yeah-" Cyrus whispered, clearing his throat slightly. Vyron crossed the room sitting down on the foot of the bed in front of Cyrus, his gaze concerned.  
"Do you need to have an open door policy?" Vyron sighed jokingly and Cyrus shook his head no, a slight smile on his lips. Vyron nodded as he brushed Cyrus's hair back from his face carefully. "I wanted to ask how many days you wanted off before we resume everything..." Vyron trailed off with a deep sigh, his lips pressed together before looking back at Cyrus. "That doesn't mean you have to go back to all that immediately, just when you think you will be roughly ready." Vyron said gently. Cyrus raised his eyes to meet Vyron's unsure what to say before he turned to look at Kasen over his shoulder.  
"How many days do you think it will take to do what we talked about?" Cyrus asked carefully. Kasen paused as Vyron's gaze fell on him too, curious about what Cyrus meant. Kasen shifted slightly biting at his lip as his pale eyes studied Cyrus.   
"You said you need to be well rested and such, right now you need a lot of food and rest. Perhaps 4 weeks?" Kasen replied a bit unsure as his eyes squinted in thought looking off to the side as he thought it over. "Not like I've done this sort of thing before... there is a lot of grey area." Kasen breathed with a slight chuckle looking back at Cyrus.   
"What exactly are you two talking about?" Vyron sighed with a frown, his gaze falling back on Cyrus.  
"Kasen offered to teach me some close combat he is good at." Cyrus happily chirped and Vyron's brows raised slightly.  
"Then I will overlook this training." Vyron said evenly as he got to his feet. "Diner is ready, you two want to eat at the table or you both can eat up here?" Vyron calmly asked. Kasen shrugged as he looked to Cyrus, his brows drawing together in worry.  
"I personally don't care either way, but do you think you'll be able to?" Kasen asked gently. Cyrus flopped onto his back with a soft groan closing his eyes.  
"I guess we will eat up here." Cyrus breathed and Vyron nodded slightly looking at Kasen.  
"Then you come carry the plates up." Vyron said evenly and Kasen shifted kissing Cyrus's forehead before getting off the bed and following Vyron downstairs. The kitchen table was covered in food freshly made, the rich smells made Kasen's mouth water, and his eyes wide at how much there was. Luna wandered over to Kasen in short athletic shorts and a sports bra, her hair pulled back into a ponytail and flower smudged on her arms.   
"Hey, how is Cyrus?" Luna softly asked Kasen worried.  
"I think he is going to take some time till he feels safe again." Kasen breathed his eyes lowered to the floor.  
"Well he has you, I'm not surprised everything else will be a bit harder for a bit." She said gently her deep wine eyes looking away to the table and smiled slightly. "My mother has had Vyron and I make as much of Cyrus's favorite food as possible with her. She went a bit overboard." Luna said giggling. Kasen smiled looking over all the dishes of food on the table.  
"I think he would be shy about all the work put into it so I'll say thank you for him." Kasen said softly as he smiled more and Luna smirked nodding knowingly. Rose walked over carrying two plates completely piled with food and the silverware stabbed into the food to keep in place. Kasen's eyebrows raised stunned by the amount and carefully took the plates.   
"Thank you very much." Kasen warmly said in Russian watching Rose smile up at him.   
"No problem at all, don't hesitate to get seconds. Oh and make sure Cyrus eats all of his." Rose responded in Russian beaming happily as she headed over to the table to sit next to Vyron. Kasen gave Luna a nod as he turned and headed back up the stairs biting at his lip, putting a lot of focus into not dropping a plate.  
"Wow this is a lot." Kasen breathed with a smile once he got to the room, Cyrus shifted to lean against the headboard looking down at the plate piled with food just as shocked.   
"You're not wrong." Cyrus said with a chuckle as he carefully removed the silverware as Kasen got situated next to him looking at the TV on the dresser across from them turned on and a movie pulled up.   
"So I think this is the most normal situation I've ever been in." Kasen said blinking, almost shocked by his own words as he looked at Cyrus.  
"Want me to turn off the lights so it will be like... a movie date?" Kasen asked shyly. Cyrus smirked looking to him as he raised one eyebrow.  
"I won't stop you." Cyrus said smoothly watching Kasen blush as he carefully flicked off the lights and they sat closer as the movie began to play, carefully eating away at the food.  
"Cyrus." Kasen whispered softly as his gaze shifted from the movie to Cyrus carefully eating a bite off the fork, his eyes locked on the screen and looked to Kasen as he slowly pulled the fork from his mouth blinking at him shyly.  
"Mmn?" Cyrus hummed in response as he quickly worked at eating what was in his mouth.  
"Can you tell me what all the different foods are on the plate? I think it tastes extremely good, just curious." Kasen said softly with a warm smile as Cyrus smiled more, his brows raising.  
"You just been eating not knowing what you're putting in your mouth?" Cyrus questioned with a giggle as he rested his head on Kasen's shoulder as he began to point out different foods on Kasen's plate pleased by the intense blush on Kasen's face. "That one is pirozhki, like puff pastry with potatoes, meat cabbage and cheese. That one there is shaslyk which is kebabs of lamb, bell peppers, onions and tomatoes. Got some beef stroganoff over there, fairly obvious... cream of mushroom over beef and noodles. She added some desserts too. That round fried cake is syrniki, fried sweet cottage cheese pancakes covered in honey, it's so good!" Cyrus chirped with a huge smile. "Oh and a few zefir... it's like marshmello texture. I actually really like puréed peaches and strawberries for mine but it tends to be apples or other fruits, so it's actually super healthy and not as sugary as you may think." Cyrus said softly as he studied Kasen staring over each food to remember what he said.   
"Huh interesting." Kasen said in thought as he quickly ate a zefir his eyebrows raised surprised by how much he liked it. "I want to eat here more often." Kasen chuckled. Cyrus beamed up at Kasen before sitting back up so he could eat as well. By the time they managed to work through the food the movie was over and they laid together sleepily cuddling.   
"I'm surprised you finished all that off." Kasen hummed as he gently ran his fingers through Cyrus's hair and gently rubbed his fingers against Cyrus's scalp helping him relax even more.   
"I think I'm way past my limit for how much food I can hold." Cyrus breathed with a tired smile before covering a yawn. Kasen nodded slightly as he drew a slow deep breath letting out a soft deep groan.   
"It was so good though." He breathed and Cyrus smiled pulling the blankets up around them as he cuddled his face against Kasen's chest.   
"I suppose tomorrow the training starts knowing Vyron." Cyrus whispered as Kasen moved his arms around Cyrus holding him close.   
"Hopefully things go smoothly Kasen breathed into a yawn as his pale green eyes slowly began to close. Cyrus pressed a gentle kiss to Kasen's lips before allowing his eyes to stay closed sighing softly feeling relaxed and cozy cuddled up with Kasen.  
"Good night Cyrus. Love you." Kasen mumbled out sleepily as he nestled his face against the top of Cyrus's head.   
"Night. Love you too." Cyrus whispered as he laid there drifting to sleep listening to the sound of Kasen's heart softly beating. 

Loud knocking on the door woke Cyrus and Kasen as their arms and legs tangled as they tried to get up from the bed, still tightly in each other's hold as the door opened and hallway light flooded the room.   
"Rise and shine. Time to get moving." Vyron said evenly in the doorway looking over their startled expression. Kasen laid on his back with Cyrus half over him. Kasen's leg raised as Cyrus half sat on it, his hands resting on Kasen's chest. Kasen slowly lowered his hands from Cyrus's hips to his thighs as he let out a nervous chuckle.   
"I swear this isn't as bad as it probably looks." Kasen breathed his face red as he meet Vyron's cold gaze. Cyrus looked between the two of them confused as he swept his messy long hair out of his face and over to one shoulder in through before his face slowly became red too. Vyron's eyebrows raised for a moment as he put his cigar to his lips breathing in a deep pull and slowly exhaled out one side of his mouth.   
"I'll be downstairs waiting. You two better get dressed in workout clothes quickly." Vyron sighed tiredly, closing the door. Cyrus blinked down at Kasen in the darkness of the room and shifted flipping on the lamp next to his bed.   
"How did I even end up on top?" Cyrus giggled as he carefully crawled off Kasen.  
"No idea." Kasen said warmly as he got to his feet as he lifted his shirt off the floor.   
"Were you not able to grab the clothes from my room?" Cyrus eyed as Kasen was about to pull on the shirt.   
"Um... no." Kasen whispered, blinking at Cyrus unsure. "Is there a problem with rewearing for a few days and washing and then repeating?" Kasen questioned as Cyrus stared at him.   
"I'm going to find you clothes to wear while those are being washed." Cyrus said softly as he turned away pulling open his drawers searching through them. Kasen wandered over to Cyrus gently resting his hands on his hips as he leaned down to rest his chin on Cyrus's shoulder.   
"Do you actually have clothes that will fit me? I didn't want to go through you things." Kasen said softly before kissing Cyrus's neck gently a few times ever so slowly. Cyrus paused mid motion of lifting up the folded clothes in the drawer as Kasen began to kiss his neck, his heart skipping a beat.   
"You're more than welcome to any of my belongings." Cyrus breathed his head tilting slightly so he could look at Kasen out of the corner of his eye, softly biting at his lower lip in thought.   
"I'll keep that in mind then." Kasen whispered as he brushed Cyrus's hair away from his face as he trailed the kisses up farther to his ear lightly biting before taking it into his mouth. Cyrus felt like Kasen would be able to feel the heat off his face and bit down on his lip harder before letting out a soft sigh.   
"Vyron is gonna be pissed if we keep him waiting." Cyrus breathed as he leaned back against Kasen not wanting the affection to stop.   
"I think a few more minutes won't hurt." Kasen whispered into Cyrus's ear, making a shiver run down his back. "Keep looking for the clothes, don't mind me." Kasen whispered between kisses back down Cyrus's neck. Cyrus swallowed hard as he focused on the drawer slowly continuing to look through the clothes he had in it, struggling not to keep pausing.   
"You're so distracting." Cyrus sighed trying to turn around but Kasen held his hips in place pulling him tightly to him.   
"Clothes." Kasen said with a smirk as he licked a small spot on Cyrus's neck before pressing his lips to it, sucking carefully. Cyrus stood there unable to focus on anything but Kasen's mouth on his neck and the feeling of his teeth against his skin and the soothing feeling. "K-kasen." Cyrus softly moaned struggling to keep his composure. "You're not being fair." Cyrus whined softly. Kasen chuckled as he slowly lifted his mouth from Cyrus's neck, admiring the mark he left behind.   
"Do you have the clothes?" Kasen questioned smoothly as he slowly turned Cyrus towards him.   
"N-no. I'm not done looking yet." Cyrus mumbled looking away hoping to hide how red his face was. Kasen slowly knelt down, snapping Cyrus's attention back to him as he lifted his shirt kissing along Cyrus's hips.   
"Better keep looking than." Kasen hummed as he began to leave another mark a few inches in from Cyrus's right hip. Cyrus blinked down at Kasen watching the way Kasen had his eyes closed calmly and his face serious with focus. Cyrus slowly slid his fingers through Kasen's hair with one hand as the other moved into the drawer fishing out a pair of grey sweats tossing them onto the bed as he carefully pulled open a different drawer fumbling to grab a sleeveless shirt and tossed it to the bed too. Cyrus slowly added his other hand to Kasen hair before lowering down to his knees kissing him gently. Kasen pulled away from the kiss after a few moments.   
"Those for me on the bed?" Kasen questioned watching Cyrus nod slightly. "Thanks, after we do training for the day you can get more attention." Kasen said smoothly standing as he lifted the shirt pulling it on. The shirt had just a bit of room and Kasen looked it over curiously. "Do you tend to keep larger sizes to wear?" Kasen asked, looking over to Cyrus carefully brushing his hair.   
"Yeah for cold days so I feel more lazy and warm." Cyrus said calmly with a slight shrug. "At least they fit you." He said thoughtfully as Kasen pulled on the sweats and they ended right at his ankles.   
"True. Want me to get a cup of coffee ready for you while you finish up getting ready?" Kasen asked gently as Cyrus pulled his hair into a messy bun.   
"Um sure, that would be nice." Cyrus said warmly watching Kasen head out closing the door behind him before sinking down to sit against the bed, his eyes on the floor. "This is real." Cyrus whispered to himself, drawing a slow breath. "This is real." He breathed again slowly looking down at the faint scars running down his arms trailing his fingers along it carefully. Hot tears slowly filled Cyrus's eyes and spilled over running down his cheeks as his brows drew together. His emotions felt overwhelming and hard to understand as he tried to focus on his breathing. Everything had happened so fast from being separated from Kasen to the time spent in the hospital. Slowly Cyrus pressed his face into his knees as his arms moved over his head as he began to sob silently his body shaking from the sharp breaths. A hand on Cyrus's back pulled him out of his thoughts and he lifted his head confused, not hearing the door open. Luna knelt next to him, her eyes searching his filled with concern.   
"Hey Cyrus." Luna gently whispered before pulling him into a hug. It took Cyrus a few moments but he slowly returned it moving closer so they weren't awkwardly leaning uncomfortably. "Will you tell me what's wrong?" Luna softly asked as she rubbed his back. Cyrus drew shaky breaths as he slowly broke from the hug sitting there as he stared down at the floor.   
"You shouldn't have to be taking care of me all the time Luna." Cyrus breathed and she smiled warmly as she carefully brushed away his tears.   
"If you don't want to talk about it I understand, just might help than hold it in." Luna said calmly, taking Cyrus's hands in hers.   
"I'm just processing everything. Didn't get much time for however long I was there." Cyrus whispered with a frown.   
"Only a week. Kasen immediately took action as soon as he realized something had happened. Luckily Vyron knew where Kenzo would send you because he has been watching where his money has been going to. Group effort to get you out as fast as possible." Luna said carefully as she gave Cyrus's hands a light squeeze as he nodded in thought.   
"Didn't feel like only a week had gone by. Was Kasen okay?" Cyrus questioned worried and Luna lowered her eyes.  
"He took all the blame of getting separated from you and you being there as his fault. It took quite a few days till we actually saw him leave your room and start to work out to pass time. He really does love you. I don't think I've ever seen someone more in love with you." Luna said softly. "He got drunk and confessed how much he loves you too." Luna said, nudging Cyrus who looked up at her taken aback.   
"How much alcohol did he have?" Cyrus asked worried and Luna raised her eyebrows questioning.   
"Like a bottle of vodka." She said a bit unsure as she looked over Cyrus's concerned expression.  
"A whole bottle?" Cyrus breathed staring at her as Luna nodded. Cyrus slowly drew a deep breath biting at his lip. "At least you only gave him one. Next time only a glass though okay?" Cyrus said softly and Luna nodded slowly, still a bit confused.   
"Are you up to training today though?" Luna asked seriously, eyeing Cyrus.  
"Yeah I should be." Cyrus sighed deeply as he got to his feet followed by Luna.   
"It's alright to not be too, just speak up when you want to stop." Luna said evenly before patting Cyrus's head. "Good luck?" She said as she turned to leave.  
"Yeah. Yeah." Cyrus replied watching her go before quickly changing into black sweats and a black shirt and tugged on his boots before quickly bounding down the stairs. Kasen stood leaning against the counter, a mug of coffee in his hand as Vyron sat at the table with Rose talking softly and paused as Cyrus entered the room.   
"Hey you okay?" Kasen asked gently as he studied Cyrus's slightly puffy eyes.   
"Yeah I'm fine." Cyrus said smiling slightly as he leaned up against Kasen's side eyeing the coffee inside the mug, his shoulders slumping slightly when he saw it was black and blinked up at Kasen expectantly. Kasen smiled watching Cyrus's face change to that of a kitten with big eyes and kissed him on the nose before placing in his hands a mug Kasen had placed behind himself for Cyrus. Cyrus quickly took a sip of the pale caramel looking liquid and a pleasant smile slowly spread across his face.   
"I think this is better than any coffee I've ever had!" Cyrus beamed up at Kasen before taking larger gulps of it.   
"Ah good." Kasen hummed pleased as his eyes wandered to Vyron and Rose watching them and quickly looked away.   
"Alright, you two start with 10 laps around the house." Vyron sighed and Cyrus's eyebrows raised at the thought of that slowly putting the mug on the counter.   
"This is going to suck." Cyrus groaned as the training began. By midday Cyrus laid out on the grass sweating and breathing hard. They ran, did mock fighting and ran some more. Then they did some work outs and Vyron wouldn't let Cyrus pause especially if Kasen was able to continue to keep pace. Now that it was time for a break Cyrus didn't want to move at all. Kasen slowly crawled over to Cyrus, laying down next to him.   
"You look tired." Kasen said softly brushing Cyrus's bangs out of his face.  
"Yeah." Cyrus sighed, closing his eyes as the cool breeze felt good against his now exposed sweaty forehead.   
"You think you can still handle our training?" Kasen asked worried as he pressed a kiss to Cyrus's cheek.  
"I think so." Cyrus whispered looking at Kasen with a shy smile moving a bit closer pressing his lips to Kasen's gently.  
"You two can suck face later. Have some water." Luna said standing over them as she dropped water bottles next to them and walked off to go talk to Vyron as he sat waiting for them to recover. Cyrus chuckled slowly sitting up as he drank down as much of the water as he could sighing once done.   
"So you ready?" Cyrus asked a bit nervously.  
"Yep." Kasen said as he got to his feet dusting off slightly as Cyrus stood backing a few feet away from him. Vyron lit a cigar as Rose came to stand next to him to watch and Luna smirked, curious on why Cyrus was so cautious of Kasen.   
"Start!" Vyron called and Kasen closed the space between him and Cyrus swinging a hard punch. Cyrus's ebony eyes flicked to Kasen's swing as he ducked feeling the wind of the force brush his cheek his eyes widened alarmed.   
"Use your ability like we agreed." Kasen said seriously as he suddenly switched to offensive. Cyrus frowned as his eyes locked with Kasen’s before his irises seemed to have a slight red tint to them and when Cyrus moved Kasen's breath paused at how incredibly fast he suddenly was. Cyrus's first attack was a kick and Kasen's teeth gritted as he had to try to predict where Cyrus's leg would make impact just barely blocking as the force slid Kasen ever so slightly. Cyrus quickly shifted his weight slightly and Kasen hesitated expecting a kick again but knew better as Cyrus threw a curved punch and grabbed hold of Cyrus's hand. Cyrus blinked at Kasen as his legs were swept out from under and used the force to swing his legs up and his hand in Kasen hold twisted slightly vaulting himself over Kasen forcing him to let go. Kasen spun around immediately with a kick and connected with Cyrus's arm trying to block it but the strength was too much for Cyrus to hold back and tumbled to the ground coughing slightly as he pulled himself up as Kasen began to approach.   
"You alright?" Kasen asked calmly as he paced deep breaths.  
"Yeah." Cyrus said softly looking up at Kasen meeting his intense gaze.   
"Come at me." Kasen said softer and Cyrus bolted at Kasen swinging fast alternating punches relieved that Kasen used his arms to block but couldn't find an opening yet to fight back. Kasen suddenly pushed his arms against one of the punches throwing Cyrus off as the next swing fell short. Kasen's hand swept up grabbing Cyrus by the shirt and dragging him close, stopping the punch against Cyrus's stomach so he wouldn't hurt him.   
"You understand how I did that?" Kasen breathed and Cyrus nodded a few times blinking up at Kasen. "Good. So if someone is swinging to many punches at you go on the defensive and figure out a way to counter safely. You're faster than I am, but I know you well so you need to be as unpredictable as possible, so use many different angles. Like roundhouse kick but at a tilt at the last minute so your opponent won't expect it." Kasen said evenly as Cyrus's eyes widened, taking in Kasen's advice. "You already have good skill, just pushing it from there." Kasen said slowly letting go of Cyrus's shirt. Now I'm curious, can you show me how fast you can run." Kasen questioned and Cyrus paused for a moment and then walked 10 yards away, turning to Kasen to make sure he was ready and got a slight nod. Cyrus drew a deep breath as his feet dug into the ground as he leaned forward, flexing his legs slightly preparing for the push off of the first few strides of the run. As soon as Cyrus bolted forward Kasen took a few steps back, as he looked at his timer on his phone. Cyrus came to a stop before Kasen in a matter of moments.   
"Is that good?" Cyrus asked with a sigh as he drew a deep breath, his breathing slowing.   
"Y-yeah." Kasen said softly, gazing down at the time at a loss. Cyrus was definitely faster than a normal person. 'No wonder he couldn't keep up with him completely.' Kasen thought to himself. Cyrus smirked as he studied Kasen standing there lost in thought and leaned forward to look down at the time his eyebrows raised.   
"I think that's one of my best times yet." Cyrus chuckled, his ebony eyes lifted to search Kasen's pale green eyes. "Anything else you would like to see me do?" He asked smoothly. Kasen slid his phone away, and gently brushed his fingers through Cyrus's bangs.   
"I suppose not for now. I'll have to think over tomorrow and what I want you to do for training." Kasen said softly, smiling warmly for a moment before he paused gently wiping under Cyrus's nose. Cyrus blinked confused for a moment and looked down at the blood on Kasen's finger, his hand quickly going up to his nose to cover it.   
"Ah! I'm fine really." Cyrus said with a nervous chuckle and looked away from everyone as he pulled a small handkerchief out of his pocket pressing it to his nose as he walked away a bit from them. Vyron frowned heading out into the yard and over to Kasen.  
"How much blood was there?" Vyron questioned coldly.  
"Just a tiny amount." Kasen said quietly, wiping his finger off on his pants to not draw any more attention to it. "He has had more in the past." Kasen said, frowning slightly.   
"What do you mean?" Vyron asked his brows drawing together in concern.  
"He has had worse nose bleeds than that one." Kasen responded a bit unsure and defensive as he met Vyron's intense gaze.   
"It's extremely serious every time Cyrus has a physical reaction." Vyron said harshly as he turned around walking back to Rose, whispering softly into her ear. Kasen sighed in frustration as he watched Vyron and Rose before heading over to Cyrus, eyeing the small amount of blood soaked into the cloth.   
"Are you feeling alright?" Kasen asked carefully, resting his hand on Cyrus's back.   
"Mmn. Yeah I'm fine." Cyrus whispered as he dabbed at his nose a few times to make sure the bleeding had stopped and tucked it away in his pocket. "What did Vyron ask you?" Cyrus questioned looking up at Kasen as he turned to face him.  
"He wanted to know if it was serious." Kasen said evenly, pulling Cyrus into a tight hug.  
"Kasen?" Cyrus asked carefully, a bit confused as he hugged him back slowly.  
"I can't hug you?" Kasen questioned softly.  
"No you can." Cyrus said quickly, cuddling his face against Kasen's chest. Cyrus's eyes closed as he slowly leaned fully into him. Kasen carefully swept Cyrus up into his arms, getting a soft gasp in response.   
"You're tired, let's take a small rest." Kasen whispered and Cyrus nodded giving in as he rested his head against Kasen closing his eyes.  
"Fine." Cyrus breathed, yawing for a moment before relaxing into Kasen starting to drift off. Rose walked over once Kasen reached the back deck of the house Vyron and her had been watching from and paused as she looked over Cyrus worried.   
"Come see me if it gets any worse." Rose whispered in Russian seriously and Kasen nodded as his eyes lowered to Cyrus.   
"If it gets worse... is it something he could die from?" Kasen asked carefully in Russian watching Rose's face fall slightly as she nodded slightly. Kasen paused for a moment, his expression becoming troubled. Kasen headed inside quickly and carried Cyrus to his room. He sat beside Cyrus tucked into the bed, lost in thought as he looked him over. Ever so gently Kasen brushed his thumb against Cyrus's cheekbone before leaning down and placed a kiss on his cheek before getting to his feet and pulled out his phone making a call.   
"Kasen. I expected regular reports from you." Director Ravencroft said harshly as soon as he picked up and Kasen frowned glancing at Cyrus for a moment, deciding it would be best to talk in the hall.  
"Well I didn't have a whole lot to report and still don't. We discussed that it may be difficult to have a steady stream of communication." Kasen responded evenly getting a pause from the Director.   
"Then fill me in on what you have been doing." Ravencroft said coldly.   
"Cyrus has called in individuals he said will help put Kenzo in line and have him removed. So we have been meeting with them trying to set up something that will give Cyrus a reason to have Kenzo arrested that can be easily proven. Just have to wait till everything falls in place. On the side I've been giving Cyrus pointers in case he has to physically fight Kenzo." Kasen said calmly, waiting on edge for a response.  
"You're giving him fighting training?" The Director questioned his tone disproving.   
"You don't want him to die do you? I thought he was useful to you in some way." Kasen questioned defensively and Ravencroft hummed slightly in thought.   
"Is that all you have to say?" Ravencroft asked his tone changing to a more knowing of something air of confidence to it.   
"Yes, why would you think there is more?" Kasen asked confused, his eyes narrowing on the floor trying to figure out what was going on.  
"Freya mentioned you had called her." The Director said calmly the sound of him leaning back in his chair could be heard.   
"What?" Kasen questioned, annoyed now and even more confused. "I didn't call her." Kasen said evenly, his eyes narrowing into a glare.   
"She most definitely said you did a few nights ago." Director Ravencroft said smoothly, intrigued a bit more.  
"Are you fucking with me right now?" Kasen snapped, getting pissed. "I literally have no idea what you're talking about. I have nothing to say to her." Kasen evenly said, his voice raising a bit.  
"If you don't remember then you don't remember. She said it sounded like you were drunk." Director Ravencroft said calmly and Kasen stood there for a moment trying to think.   
"Whatever I don't know what the hell you're talking about. Anything else she told you that I supposedly did?" Kasen questioned letting out a frustrated sigh.   
"Nothing that can't wait to be discussed till you return." The Director said with a sigh and the call ended. Kasen looked down at his phone in a glare.   
"What the hell was that?" Kasen mumbled under his breath as Luna stuck her head out into the hall.   
"What's all the yelling about?" She asked calmly, staring down Kasen expectantly.  
"When did I get drunk? I remember having some vodka but I went to bed immediately after." Kasen questioned feeling confused as Luna tilted her head at him in thought.   
"You talking about earlier in the week? When I brought you the bottle of vodka?" Luna asked carefully and Kasen stood there trying to remember everything they had said about the whole conversation feeling a bit hazy up to a certain point in the memory.   
"You did drink the whole bottle Kasen." Luna said gently, meeting his startled look.   
"What the whole thing?" Kasen breathed taken aback feeling very insure now about his earlier stance on not calling Freya. "Fuck." Kasen sighed deeply, running his hand over his face, hoping he would be able to figure out soon what he had even said to Freya. "Thanks." He breathed as he slipped back into Cyrus's room.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Cyrus shifted as Kasen entered and stretched slightly, his face lifting from the nestled position in the blankets.   
"Everything okay?" Cyrus asked softly with a yawn as Kasen sank down onto the bed next to him carefully crawling under the covers to hold Cyrus close.   
"Yeah everything is fine." Kasen breathed as he pressed a kiss to Cyrus's forehead and paused. "Let's make a deal. I'll try to explain the complicated stuff I'm dealing with that I've just been trying to prevent you from having to worry about. And you talk to me about what's all going on with you, because I know we are both holding back. Am I right?" Kasen whispered softly.  
"You're not wrong." Cyrus said ever so softly his face pressing to Kasen's chest. "But it's extremely hard for me to talk about this sort of thing." Cyrus whispered as Kasen rubbed his back slowly.   
"You can take all the time you need to try and talk about it. Having communication though about everything is good right?" Kasen questioned a bit unsure, usually advice like this was the other way around.  
"Right." Cyrus softly answered as he hugged Kasen tighter. "So you're going first?" Cyrus asked gently.  
"Um I did say that didn't I..." Kasen trailed off with a slight chuckle feeling a bit anxious now about talking too.   
"I hadn't been reporting to Ravencroft, more distracted really with everything. But when I did I lied." Kasen whispered, his voice trembling slightly. "I've never thought I'd lie and it just came out. I know I was doing it to protect you. I don't regret it just makes me question everything I thought I had wanted in my life originally. Ravencroft profiles people, he may already know I wasn't telling the truth. I'm worried about what things will be like when we return. If we return, just everything. I got blackout drunk a few night back and I've been told I spoke with Freya on the phone. I don't recall any of it and it seems whatever I had said was passed on to Ravencroft too. I'm scared but I want all my focus to be on the present with training and the mission to handle the Kenzo problem. As well as protect and love you." Kasen rambled out falling into silence once he had finished. Cyrus drew a slow breath in thought, he hadn't fully been expecting all of that.   
"What did you tell him exactly?" Cyrus asked carefully, pressing a kiss to Kasen's collarbone in hopes it would calm him a bit.   
"That everything was going smoothly, you called in important people. That we are working with them to pin a crime on Kenzo and have him arrested. And that I was giving you a bit of close combat training." Kasen answered, relaxing a bit into Cyrus's kiss as he felt a few more brush up his neck.   
"I'll keep that in mind for when I'm questioned." Cyrus said softly as he closed his eyes. "My turn?" Cyrus breathed.  
"Mmn." Kasen hummed with a nod, his arms gently raised to run his fingers through Cyrus's hair.   
"I'm having a hard time feeling like everything is real or not. Going under and waking just made everything off." Cyrus began biting at his lip as he took slow even breaths. "I struggle with feeling worthy of your love... that I'm not worth all this pain and difficult situations you're being put through. I'm horrified that I could be taken back there. I-I just... hope that all the choices are the right ones you know?" Cyrus said quickly, tears starting to fill his eyes.  
"Cyrus-" Kasen breathed, taken aback as he hugged him tightly as Cyrus cried softly against his chest. Kasen drew a shaky breath trying to fight away his own tears hearing Cyrus sound so sorrowful and pained. "You are more than enough. I should be the one questioning why me. When we first met I fell hard. When you kissed me in that medical area. I didn't want to admit I was suspicious you may have been the one from that night. But even now that doesn't change anything. We still barely know so much about each other but there isn't anyone else I'd want to be with ever." Kasen said seriously, tilting up Cyrus's chin so their eyes could meet. Kasen carefully wiped away Cyrus's tears as he continued. "I promise you I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe. I will always be at your side, I won't let anything separate us." Kasen breathed as he gently kissed Cyrus. Cyrus immediately returned the kiss humming slightly in understanding.   
"I didn't know you already liked me then." Cyrus said shyly as their lips parted. Kasen smiled slightly in thought.  
"Yeah I even had to go through with dragging you back to my base. I was definitely not a good feeling carrying you and feeling distracted by feelings." Kasen chuckled. Cyrus smiled a bit as he tried to recall anything after Kasen had put him under.   
"I thought you were going to kill me for sure. If I had known I already had some affection from you I definitely would have made things difficult." Cyrus sighed in thought. "Do you have any sort of idea of what will happen when we return? If you decide you don't want to, that's alright too." Cyrus breathed.   
"I have no idea. I'm having a hard time deciding what choice to make. I'm really sorry. I know that makes things complicated." Kasen said with a frown as Cyrus lowered his eyes.   
"I do want to say one thing. If I find out you're in danger... I will act on it." Cyrus said evenly. "Can you accept I may kill more of your people?" Cyrus whispered. Kasen laid there for a moment silently debating how he felt about that. Cyrus drawing blood on his home base for his own personal reasons was definitely different then following someone else's orders.   
"I-I wish I had an answer. To be honest I don't know." Kasen breathed and Cyrus nodded slightly as they both laid there in silence for a bit. "Are you feeling better?" Kasen asked, breaking the silence between them.   
"Yeah, I feel good now that I've rested. Really it wasn't the usual feeling my body gets when I'm at my limit. I think it was just from all the stress of everything that triggered it." Cyrus tried to reassure Kasen.   
"Well you let me know anytime. You want to have a code word for when it's serious?" Kasen asked thoughtfully and Cyrus raised his brows.  
"That's a good idea! It would need to be something vague enough that it can be said in any situation." Cyrus whispered in thought, more to himself as he shifted to cuddle back against Kasen. "How about I use your name. When it's an emergency I'll work Mr. Blackwood into the sentence?" Cyrus questioned blinking up at Kasen, relieved he finally thought of something.   
"That's easy to remember. Should I do the same for you?" Kasen asked carefully as he ran his fingers slowly through Cyrus's hair.   
"Sure but Mr. Hale instead of Kaimyo okay?" Cyrus questioned softly searching Kasen's pale green eyes.   
"No issue at all." Kasen said with a smile. "Hopefully we won't need to use them but I feel better now that we have this in place." Kasen sighed as Cyrus nodded.   
"Same." Cyrus whispered as he tucked the covers better around them. "I'll do better with training tomorrow. Thank you Kasen." Cyrus sighed as he got comfortable snuggled up to Kasen.   
"I'm sure no matter what you do I'll think you did perfect." Kasen said gently as he cradled Cyrus. "I love you, good night." Kasen said softly.  
"Love you too, night." Cyrus whispered as he stifled a yawn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So just a little chapter update before they go face Kenzo. Been awhile sense I've posted but that's due to life getting in the way. Should be back on track now though. I've be really editing the upcoming chapters and making sure they are all ready for the upload :) hope you enjoy this cute little scene. And feel free to leave any comments on what you think about the story feed back is always appreciated and welcomed ^u^ -thank you!!!


	14. Chapter Fourteen

The week on trailing blurred by as the time for heading back to the base to face Kenzo arrived. Cyrus stood in his room fully dressed in his gear and Kasen entered the room dressed in full uniform he had gotten from Vyron.   
"Hey, you okay?" Kasen asked gently as he pulled Cyrus into a hug, cradling his head to his chest.   
"Yeah, I will be." Cyrus breathed as he hugged Kasen back tightly, closing his eyes for a few moments. "You sure you want to go with me, I don't want there to be a possibility something could happen to you." Cyrus whispered as he lifted his head to blink up at Kasen worried.   
"I'm not going to leave your side." Kasen said seriously watching Cyrus nod his head slightly looking away in thought. "And if you need my help with anything just say so." Kasen said gently as he pressed a kiss to Cyrus's forehead.   
"Same to you." Cyrus said with a slight smile as he leaned up on his toes kissing Kasen softly.   
"Not to interrupt you two love birds, but Vyron is in the car waiting already." Luna said in the doorway smirking as she looked them over. "Besides you both will be fine. So don't act like one of you may die or I'll have to be constantly watching your backs paranoid." Luna sighed as she walked to Cyrus quickly hugging him and then Kasen before turning away and walking quickly back to her room. "Be safe!" She yelled over her shoulder before slamming the door. Kasen and Cyrus exchanged a look before they chuckled softly and headed down the stairs to the front door where Rose stood a small bag in her arms.   
"I made some medicine in case you need it Cyrus. You make sure he takes it if the side effects begin to worsen." Rose said in Russian as her eyes moved to Kasen seriously.  
"I will be sure he takes it if that happens." Kasen responded in Russian his head bowing ever so slightly.   
"Wow you both act like I need to be watched. I will, I will." Cyrus sighed in Russian taking the bag before pulling his mom into a tight hug. "If Luna gets worried about something going wrong, you both will move to the safe house. Promise me." Cyrus whispered softly in Russian and Rose nodded her head as tears started to run down her cheeks as she hugged Cyrus tightly back.   
"I promise." Rose breathed gently letting go, wiping at her eyes before hugging Kasen tightly. "Don't be a stranger and watch over Cyrus." Rose said softly as Kasen carefully returned the hug not used to this much physical interaction with others.   
"Not a problem." Kasen responded in Russian stepping out of the hug once he felt like an acceptable amount of time had passed and took Cyrus's hand as they headed out to the car. Vyron gave a tired nod as they climbed in and Kasen looked down at the floor with tactical knives, hand guns, ammunition, and Cyrus's sniper.   
"Get all the gear on, things are going to be tense." Vyron said seriously as he exhaled a cloud of smoke. Cyrus shifted as he passed Kasen his share and then tucked away all of his and lifted his sniper slowly looking it over.  
"You snuck onto base?" Cyrus breathed looking to Vyron who only shrugged slightly.   
"You needed your best stuff, so I went and got it." Vyron sighed as his eye lifted from the road to meet Cyrus's eyes in the rear view mirror. "And I made it back safely. No need to worry." Vyron said calmly as Cyrus slowly relaxed back in the seat shaking his head slightly as he sighed.   
"Thank you." Cyrus said evenly and Vyron chuckled slightly looking back to the road.   
"You're welcome." Vyron replied calmly.   
Cyrus pressed the sniper bullets into the magazine quietly in thought as Kasen looked over watching.   
"Is this just precautionary or what's the plan?" Kasen questioned carefully.   
"Will you get the clips ready for the handguns?" Cyrus asked softly as he continued and Kasen nodded as he lined them up and began to fill them up.   
"As for the plan it depends on what happens when we pull up." Cyrus said after a bit. "If I need to use force I will. We will then meet with the members of the board that should still be there. Kenzo will either make a move or we will." Cyrus said evenly as he slipped the extra magazines and clips into the right pouches on his pants and ballistics vest as Kasen did the same.   
"If I carry 3 of your sniper magazines would that be enough for backup?" Kasen asked as he watched the way Cyrus looked at him surprised, his face blushing slightly.   
"Yeah that should be, thank you." Cyrus said shyly, shifting to kiss Kasen's cheek. "Vyron grabbed your knife." Cyrus said warmly patting the knife in the built in sheath on his ballistics vest on his left side of his chest up between his shoulder and collarbone.   
"Good, hopefully it will be good luck." Kasen said softly as his eyes moved to look out the window as the base came into view. Vyron let out a deep sigh as the gate came into view.  
"Remember Cyrus. I've always been proud of you. No matter how the day ends I love you." Vyron said evenly and Cyrus paused trying not to tear up as he nodded.   
"Love you too. You should head back to Mom and Luna as soon as you can." Cyrus breathed and Vyron shifted slightly.  
"We shall see." He said softly before rolling down his window to the approaching guards and raised his ID. Kasen's breath caught as he could just barely see from his seat Vyron's hand slowly moved to rest on a gun in his lap. The guard that reached the window first paused looking to Vyron and then to the backseat where Cyrus camly sat his eyes trained on the man.   
"Welcome back sir. Are we killing those who have betrayed?" The man asked evenly, his face serious. Cyrus shifted slightly a bit forward on his seat.   
"Only once I can assess how bad the damage will be. I'll give a signal if I decide otherwise." Cyrus said calmly and the man nodded slightly.   
"Yes sir. You're clear to enter the base but best have weapons ready." He said darkly as he turned looking to his partner nodding for the gate to open and Vyron's hands tightened on the wheel as they slowly drove in. Cyrus lowered himself slightly as his eyes scanned the roof tops and Kasen pulled out his handgun loading it as his eyes looked over the large group of soldiers that began to gather as they came to a stop and Cyrus frowned pushing open the door and getting out as he sling his sniper across his back as his eyes moved over the soldiers gathered.   
"There better be one hell of a good reason you are all not at your tasks." Cyrus said firmly as he stood tall and a number of them lowered their heads nervously.  
"Kenzo announced that you are no longer active duty." A lady spoke up from the front and Cyrus's eyes narrowed on her.   
"Anyone else want to listen to someone who isn't the Marshal?" Cyrus questioned evenly as his hand rested next to his handgun as the group fell completely silent. "You will all take punishment. Drop and give me 50!" Cyrus said yelling and the group quickly lowered into push-ups but four that stood glaring at Cyrus.   
"Those who refuse orders will be arrested till questioned." Cyrus ordered as he looked to a group of guards standing to the left that quickly saluted and gathered the four taking them away.   
"Do I need to ask again who it is you all take orders from?!" Cyrus yelled over the group and a few flinched.   
"No Sir!" They yelled back in response and Cyrus nodded slightly.   
"Anyone that would rather betray command and follow Kenzo should turn themselves in now before I give the order for traitors to be executed. Do I make myself clear?!" Cyrus yelled.   
"Yes Sir!" The group responded and Cyrus's eyes moved to those who had paused walking by and guards as they paused quickly stopping and saluting when they realized Cyrus was now addressing everyone, chiming in with the response of the group. Cyrus pressed his lips together, his face serious as he began walking towards the central base only after walking in silence for a moment did Cyrus finally look at Kasen, his face softening a bit.   
"Damn straight." Kasen said softly with a slight smirk as his eyes locked with Cyrus's.   
"I don't think I've ever seen you look more intimidating." Vyron said softly with a slight nod of approval.   
"Hopefully that will get everyone in line once word spreads." Cyrus sighed as he pushed open the door to central and walked to the coms on the wall typing in his code as the light switched green and Cyrus leaned close talking into the speaker as his voice came on throughout the base.  
"This is Marcial Cyrus Kaimyo of the Russian Army. There will be a mandatory meeting of board members on base in Conference room two in five minutes." Cyrus said coldly and firmly before pressing it off and took the lead guiding the way down the halls to the conference room. Once inside Cyrus relaxed slightly thankful they were the first ones to arrive and crossed the room to sit at the head of the table and Vyron sat down at Cyrus's left and Kasen at his right as they waited in silence. After 3 minutes had gone by Laura entered nodding to Kasen and then looked to Cyrus.   
"Heard you came back and already had a few men arrested for noncompliance. Definitely got the base on edge but it's definitely time." She said smiling as she sat down next to Kasen.   
"Hopefully I haven't missed the window to fix everything." Cyrus sighed, folding his hands as he crossed one leg of the other. "I have a few different options in mind, depending on how this meeting goes." Cyrus said calmly as the door opened and a man stepped in. The man was dressed in formal clothes, his deep purple dress shirt complimenting his cool umber skin, his black coiled hair styled in a smooth fade with the top picked into an even pompadour and grinned at Cyrus. Cyrus's face lit up as he had to hold back from waving enthusiastically.   
"Joey! I'm pleased you've made the trip." Cyrus said warmly before motioning to Kasen.  
"This is Kasen, Kasen this is Joey. He has Luna's dream job of working with all the computer and tech side of things. We have been friends for a very long time" Cyrus beamed and Kasen shifted to stand, extending his hand with a shy smile.   
"Nice to meet you." Kasen said calmly and Joey clasped hands with Kasen.  
"You too." He said warmly and sat down next to Vyron.   
"Is there anyone else that came?" Cyrus asked carefully as he looked from Laura to Joey.   
"Daniel is on the way, should be here any minute." Joey said calmly as he leaded back in the chair slightly.   
"What does Daniel do?" Kasen asked curiously as he looked to Cyrus. "And are you good friends with him too?" Kasen questioned smiling a bit more.   
"Yes." Cyrus said as his foot nudged Kasen's playfully under the table.   
"He is incharge of overseeing the HR and councilors, health stuff like that." Cyrus said calmly.  
"Love how you become more vague as you go on." Kasen chuckled looking away to the door as it opened and Daniel stepped in. His blond hair styled back out of his face and his blue eyes stood out against his pale blue shirt tucked into black pants and an open tweed suit jacket dressed up the whole look. Daniel took a seat next to Joey, his face lightening up.   
"Made it on the dot. So are we discussing the serious stuff right away?" He questioned carefully and Cyrus nodded growing serious.   
"Is there a list we can compile with solid evidence to use against Kenzo or do I need to take more extreme means?" Cyrus questioned as everyone became silent, their gazes intense in thought as they pulled out folders placing them on the table before themselves.   
"We would all need to coordinate everything to build a solid case, and we have been working on it for years but there is only so much." Joey said seriously with a frown. Vyron shifted pulling the files from the hospital he had tucked into his jacket pocket out onto the table and Cyrus's eyes fell on the carefully picking them up as he looked them over his face paling.   
"We could use those files against him. To be to the point, Cyrus was gone because Kenzo admitted him against his will under fake charges of self harm that Kenzo had inflicted to Cyrus. To make it stand he would need to be cleared by a health professional to prove that he is innocent due to his history. And well... it would all become public once Kenzo falls." Vyron said softly with a frown as he looked to Cyrus. "I know that will be damaging to you as well." Vyron breathed. Kasen shifted with a frown as all eyes fell on Cyrus.   
"I won't pass an inspection." Cyrus whispered pushing the papers back towards Vyron unable to meet anyone's eyes. "So do we have anything else?" Cyrus breathed as everyone slowly lowered their eyes to the papers as they began to look through them. Kasen moved gently taking Cyrus's hand in his, his face growing concerned at Cyrus's words but knew this wasn't the place to ask questions.   
"We could charge him for domestic and emotional abuse. It would be better if we could get a recording and even video of it to prove without a doubt that it happens." Laura said carefully as her eyes moved to Cyrus. "That would mean putting your life in danger. The only good thing is we would be able to step in before he does serious harm." She said softly and Cyrus nodded slightly. Kasen frowned as he shifted looking to Laura.  
"To have him locked away for life Kenzo would have to be charged with first degree meaning Cyrus would be experiencing near death harm from Kenzo, you understand that?" Kasen questioned evenly.  
"It's nothing I'm not used to Kasen." Cyrus whispered as Kasen's head snapped to him.   
"It's something that you should have never had to go through. I swear to god I will just put a bullet through his head, you need to think carefully about what could happen to you." Kasen said evenly as Vyron nodded slightly looking to Cyrus than to Kasen.  
"I don't think your superior would be pleased if you killed Kenzo, it could start a reaction we wouldn't want. Especially since we are trying to defuse some of the tension." Vyron sighed. "I don't like the idea of Cyrus getting alone with Kenzo but if he has no idea it's a setup he will incriminate himself." Vyron said softly. Kasen tensed slightly as his gaze locked with Vyron his brow drawing together.   
"How would you know the reaction of my Director?" Kasen questioned, feeling a bit defensive all of a sudden.  
"Because I know Director Ravencroft." Vyron said evenly, his hand slamming to the table. "Wasn't the order to watch Cyrus as he handled Kenzo or was it something else?" Vyron demanded as everyone looked between Vyron and Kasen confused.   
"To watch Cyrus." Kasen breathed his hands clenching as his jaw set. "How do you know him?" Kasen asked as he eyed Vyron.   
"Because Vyron-" Cyrus began and Vyron held up his hand cutting him off.   
"Another time. Do you understand where your place is or not?" Vyron asked Kasen coldly.   
"I understand." Kasen growled as he lowered his eyes to the table and leaned back in the chair frustrated.   
"So we just need to get into Kenzo's office and set some things up and then wait till he wants to see Cyrus, which we know he will want to because he is most likely pissed." Joey said calmly and everyone nodded in agreement.   
"Alright so now that we have the plan we will just wait till everything falls into place." Daniel sighed as he collected his folder sliding it away and the others did the same.   
"Thank you everyone for your hard work and support." Cyrus said softly, his head bowing slightly.  
"No problem at all we are here for you." Daniel spoke up first with a smile and Joey and Lauren hummed in agreement before a knock echoed from the door. Any other time Cyrus would have felt anxious that what they had said would have been overhead but the conference rooms where soundproof and Cyrus looked to Laura who calmly stood crossing to the door and opened it carefully. Kenzo entered pushing past her as his eyes fell on Cyrus.  
"I'm surprised to see you. You have been discharged due to your mental health. And all meetings involve me." Kenzo said firmly as he glared at Cyrus.  
"Actually you're wrong with everything you have said. I wasn't discharged, you only like to label me that way. And you're too low or a rank to be in this meeting, which is why I didn't call you to it." Cyrus said evenly as Kenzo's eyes fell on Kasen.   
"You're a traitor working with the enemy Cyrus. You think you're immune to the rules?" Kenzo hissed as he began to cross the room.  
"Kasen works for me. You should recognize my branch on his ID." Laura said firmly as she stared down Kenzo who stood looking back at her confused before Kasen turned towards Kenzo so he could see the lite blue owl on his ID. Kenzo's face paled slightly as his eyes lifted glaring at Kasen.   
"This is ridiculous, I heard the two of you openly discussing it." Kenzo spat as Cyrus frowned, shrugging slightly. "Prove it then because we didn't do what you're claiming." Cyrus said coldly as he watched every moment Kenzo made.   
"Fine. Then you will meet me in my office this evening." Kenzo growled before stocking out, slamming the door.  
"Usually he is more professional and puts on a mask in front of us." Laura said thoughtfully as her eyes landed on Cyrus. "He is definitely shaken up. Wasn't he informed you left the hospital?" She questioned and Cyrus frowned slightly looking to Vyron a bit unsure.  
"I'd assume so, the Doctor there seemed to be in his pocket." Cyrus sighed as Vyron nodded slightly.   
"I'll look into it." Joey said softly as he stood. "In the meantime you three will have to kill some time till this evening. Us three will work everything out so you won't need to worry." He said warmly and Cyrus nodded as he got to his feet.   
"Thanks. See you later." Cyrus said softly as the board members all left the room.   
"So have any plans on what you want to do? Take a walk around base to get those in order or are you going to wait till Kenzo is fully out of the picture?" Vyron asked gently.  
"I'll wait to start getting strict till after. I think everyone will already be expecting that way." Cyrus said softly and Vyron nodded.  
"Cyrus, can we go to the roof and talk then?" Kasen asked softly as Cyrus's gaze fell on him and smiled.   
"Alright but you do know Vyron has to be our shadow till he heads back right?" Cyrus asked softly and Kasen nodded slightly. "Okay let go." Cyrus said, taking Kasen's hand before he decided he would rather cuddle Kasen's arm as they walked, climbing the stairs to the roof. Kasen nodded to the green house and Cyrus blinked at him taken aback, his face growing red as he looked over his shoulder to Vyron.   
"Is it okay if you wait in the doorway?" Cyrus stammered out slightly and Vyron's brows raised slightly.  
"Fine, but remember I'm within ear shot." Vyron sighed as he lit his cigar as Cyrus nodded before plants began to surround them as Kasen scooped Cyrus up into his arms suddenly getting a startled squeak from Cyrus followed by a giggle.   
"What are you planning?" Cyrus questioned looking up to Kasen's serious face shyly.  
"Nothing much." Kasen said softly as he sat down in the center of the room with a sigh cradling Cyrus in his lip as he gazed down at him. "Just wanted one more memory with you here." Kasen whispered and Cyrus felt like the heat of his blush would be felt by Kasen inches away.   
"Mmn I need to step up my game. You've been taking a lot of the lead." Cyrus chuckled as he shifted up in Kasen's lap gently taking his face in his hands.  
"I may be fucked up later so... let's have as much making out and stuff as possible now?" Cyrus breathed. Kasen paused slightly in thought as his eyes searched Cyrus's.  
"First yes, but there is something I want to talk to you about." Kasen said softly.   
"Okay?" Cyrus asked a bit nervously by the more serious tone.   
"I noticed back when I suddenly tickled you... for a moment you tensed up when I pulled up your shirt. We haven't really like pulled off each other's clothes and all that." Kasen rambled softly, his eyes lowering to Cyrus's lips in thought. "So I wanted to know how comfortable you are with everything. If I do something ever that triggers a bad memory or emotion if there is a way you can let me know I'd like that." Kasen whispered as Cyrus stared at him in silent shock. "I don't mind taking things slow, just want to know where you stand. And if you don't want to have sex that's okay too. We don't need to be intimate that way to be partners." Kasen said seriously watching Cyrus blink at him, his lips slightly open as his ebony eyes searched Kasen's. Cyrus could feel the sensation come around him of everything just being so real and new. It made him see Kasen in a completely different way than before but in a way that only confirmed that Kasen was the one he had been waiting for to come into his life. Every breath and moment felt heightened as Cyrus felt hyper focused on everything as he swallowed hard trying to focus his thoughts.   
"I didn't know you picked up on that." Cyrus breathed as he looked away slightly for a moment biting at his lip. "I'll try to speak up or give your arm a tap or something if I have any issues, does that work?" Cyrus breathed looking to Kasen a bit worried.  
"Yeah of course." Kasen said gently as he gently brushed his thumb against Cyrus's cheek. "What's this expression?" Kasen asked softly as he brushed away a tear that fell down Cyrus's check slowly.   
"I'm assuming you drew conclusions based off that or..." Cyrus trailed off a bit unsure. Kasen wasn't sure what answer was the best but he knew he should be truthful.  
"There is a reason you haven't run into Ayato." Kasen said softly his gaze lowered as Cyrus looked at him a bit unsure. "I may have... well I did. I cut him up like not as into chunks but just just like gashes sort when he bragged about... doing things to you." Kasen breathed struggling to meet Cyrus's eyes as his jaw clenched slightly.   
"You stabbed him a few times?" Cyrus questioned softly.   
"More like cut open his torso." Kasen whispered. "But Laura had recorded his whole confession and had him arrested. I didn't mean to pry into your personal life, I'm sure there are things you wouldn't be comfortable sharing with me." Kasen whispered nervously.  
"He probably thought he was rubbing it in your face just to make you upset. But I'm not upset at you for hurting him or anything, just wasn't expecting it that's all." Cyrus said softly, leaning his face into Kasen's neck. "I'm emotional because I'm scared that you won't think I'm good enough knowing that Ayato has done those things to me." Cyrus breathed as he pressed his face more into Kasen's neck.  
"It's not your fault Cyrus. It's okay, I don't think badly of you or judge anything. I couldn't imagine how difficult that would be to go through let alone handle. You did what you could at the time, please don't be hard on yourself." Kasen said softly as he hugged Cyrus, rocking slightly hoping to sooth him as Cyrus's shoulders shook as he held in a sob.   
"Fuck I don't know why I'm crying." Cyrus muttered under his breath letting out a tired chuckle.   
"Does your shoulders feel lighter?" Kasen asked softly and Cyrus nodded slightly. "I will always help carry any weight you have." Kasen whispered as he pressed a kiss to Cyrus's head. "Can I ask if everything's okay in regards to what you mentioned in the meeting?" Kasen questioned gently rubbing Cyrus's back as he felt Cyrus's hands shake slightly as his hands gripped Kasen's shirt.   
"I'm just... struggling a bit." Cyrus breathed, swallowing hard as he searched for the right words.   
"If things feel overwhelming or you're having a hard time just going through the day just let me know. I can try to help. Are there things I can do to help you with these feelings and thoughts?" Kasen asked, concerned.   
"The moments alone with you are just perfect and then things get hard when I have to just do my job." Cyrus chuckled darkly. "Sounds like I'm just running away." Cyrus whispered bitterly.   
"No it sounds like you've been through a lot and haven't had time to heal." Kasen breathed. "What if we get away for a bit after I report back to Ravencroft after all this?" Kasen questioned softly.   
"Is that even possible?" Cyrus asked a bit unsure.   
"I'll find a way. But is that something you would be okay with? Just time to safely work through everything?" Kasen asked gently.   
"Yeah I'd like that." Cyrus said calming down as he straightened up so he could look into Kasen's pale green eyes. "Earlier you talked about intimacy. I have a hard time with being interested in that... but you're kinda an exception. I don't want our entire relationship to be physical, so taking it slow and working on things and just naturally progressing sounds nice." Cyrus said smiling shyly and Kasen nodded.   
"I agree." Kasen said softly as he kissed Cyrus carefully before making sure all the tears were wiped from his face. "I love you." Kasen said softly as he took Cyrus's face in his hands.  
"I love you too." Cyrus said warmly slowly closing his eyes as Kasen leanded in kissing him sweetly and gently. Once the kiss broke Kasen shifted to lay on his back with Cyrus on top of him holding him tightly.   
"Is there anything else you want to do?" Kasen asked gently rubbing the back of Cyrus's neck and ran his fingers carefully though Cyrus's hair so he wouldn't pull any hair out of the bun.   
"This is nice. We could always go to my room if you want. Maybe Vyron would be able to find the listening device." Cyrus said thoughtfully and Kasen nodded.   
"That is actually a good idea. Wouldn't want to forget about it being in there." Kasen sighed as he carefully sat up making sure Cyrus wouldn't fall off of him. "Besides you're cute all bundled up in blankets." Kasen said with a smirk as he helped Cyrus to his feet and paused as he looked him over affectionately. "Still the most beautiful." Kasen said softly watching Cyrus's face blush bright red.  
"Oh whatever." Cyrus breathed smiling shyly. "You just know I'm weak to your compliments." Cyrus giggled softly gently giving Kasen's arm a fake punch before Kasen pulled him into a side hug not letting go as they started to walk.   
"Doesn't change that I'm the luckiest man alive that I get to look at you every day and know when I wake up tomorrow your beautiful face will still be there." Kasen said smoothly kissing Cyrus's head and then his lips once Cyrus looked up to him smiling.  
"You two should get married with the way you two look at each other." Vyron teased with a smile as he watched Kasen and Cyrus walk out of the greenhouse arms wrapped around each other's backs, sides glued together.   
"I'd have to ask for permission before marrying Cyrus from you and Rose." Kasen said seriously, getting a slightly protective stare from Vyron before Kasen began to smile as he looked at Cyrus raising his eyebrows at Vyron.   
"What, if you're saying it can't Kasen respond?" Cyrus asked Vyron slightly defensively.   
"He can, just should know he will have to kick down the door and get through me to be able to have you." Vyron said evenly and Cyrus stared at Vyron for a long moment. "And will he have to pay ransom too?" Cyrus questioned rolling his eyes slightly.   
"Perhaps, depending on your sister." Vyron said calmly as Kasen blinked confused on what was going on.   
"Well I'll do whatever it takes?" Kasen asked carefully, getting a soft laugh from Cyrus.   
"Someone will have to fill you in on the traditions." Cyrus said grinning, winking at Kasen. "Don't worry about it Vyron's just joking." Cyrus said softly as he laced his fingers with Kasen’s.  
"Who said I was joking?" Vyron questioned as he drew a slow pull on his cigar walking up ahead of them slightly. Kasen smiled as he watched them. This was something he could see being his future. His pale green eyes landed on Cyrus and he felt his heart flutter slightly as he gazed at his smile and the way his eyes squinted slightly when he smiled genuinely. Cyrus turned his head slightly looking up to Kasen when he noticed he was watching him closely and raised a brow slightly as Kasen's face reddened as his eyes flicked off of him. Cyrus smirked as he slowly let go of Kasen's hand and gave his ass a slight pat.   
"What are you thinking about?" Cyrus asked smoothly watching the way Kasen shyly looked back to him.   
"Nothing-" Kasen trailed off as Vyron pushed open Cyrus's door to his room and stood there, his face growing serious. Cyrus paused as he slowly let go of his hand, moving around Vyron as he stared at his room completely torn apart. Cyrus slowly walked in as he stood in the center of the room silently looking it all over for a few minutes letting out a soft tired sigh as he looked down at his feet.   
"It wasn't like this a few days ago when I came." Vyron said softly walking over to Cyrus's desk as he bent down to look over the file cabinet that had been broken into, picking up a few papers off the floor to look them over.   
"Would Kenzo trash the place to look for the listening device?" Kasen questioned as he carefully closed the door behind them and started to put things back to where he had remembered.   
"Probably." Cyrus whispered, his face serious as he lifted the old sheets from his hamper that was spread out on the bed. The dried blood covering a large section of it. Cyrus's shoulders sagged slightly as he clenched the sheet letting his arms drop as he spaced out.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

Kasen carefully crossed the room and ever so gently placed his hand around Cyrus's waist as he carefully turned Cyrus to him. Cyrus blinked a few times as he began to focus on the present as he was turned to face Kasen and slowly relaxed as Kasen pulled him into a tight hug.   
"Can I ask... what happened?" Kasen whispered against the top of Cyrus's head a bit unsure if he should be asking.   
"I-well..." Cyrus struggled to find the right words as he slowly dropped the sheet. "When I got back from the mission, when you technically first met me. I... well... I think it's rather self explanatory." Cyrus mumbled into Kasen's chest. Kasen paused as he realized what all Cyrus meant and hugged him tighter slowly rubbing his back. His face troubled as he gazed down at the floor.   
"Kenzo clearly knows about it." Kasen sighed as he shifted slightly to kiss the top of Cyrus's head. "So you will need to prepare yourself for comments on it then." Kasen whispered.  
"Kenzo will suspect the reason to a point. But I had the matter handled discreetly, with trusted medical staff so it wouldn't draw Kenzo's attention at the time." Vyron said seriously as he finished collecting all the papers scattered across the floor.   
"Ayato likes to spy and gossip, he would have either noticed or connected the dots and then went to Kenzo." Cyrus sighed as he shrugged slightly. "Also he could have never removed the listening device from the room." Cyrus breathed and Kasen paused tilting his head slightly in thought, knowing that was also a good possibility.   
"Then back at it to pick things up a bit?" Kasen asked as he watched Cyrus nod slightly and carefully lifted the sheet from the floor bunching it up in his arms and walked to the hamper. Kasen looked it over closely until he decided it was safe and put the sheet inside it. Cyrus began to pick up all his books, flipping through them before placing them back on the bookshelves he carefully looked over but didn't find anything. Vyron worked on the other side of the room with the desk and bed. He leaned down to pick up one of Cyrus's shirts that had been kicked half way under the bed and paused. Vyron lifted his head seriously motioning to Kasen to come to him. Kasen crossed the room and got to his hands and knees looking under the bed at something Vyron was pointing to. Sure enough a small listening device was taped in place near the headboard on the underside of one of the bed support beams. Kasen frowned, surprised him and Cyrus had missed it earlier and a troubling thought crossed his mind. 'It could have been planted after they searched when suspecting Ayato to have bugged the room when they first found him there. Perhaps it was later after they had gotten comfortable thinking it was safe.' Kasen thought to himself, his eyes narrowing as he hated how Kenzo had been one step ahead of them. Cyrus noticed Kasen and Vyron knelt next to the bed and headed over to them curious.   
"Is it what I expected?" Cyrus asked carefully and Kasen nodded slightly before pulling it free of the tape and taking it apart and breaking the card it saved all the information onto.   
"That should be the only one in here?" Cyrus asked softly as his eyes trailed around the mostly cleaned room.   
"Yes. We would have found the second by now." Vyron said tiredly as he grabbed the shirt and tossed it into the pile in the hamper.   
"At least now you are closer to the meeting time." Vyron said softly as Cyrus sank down onto the bed.   
"I'll be close by the whole time. If anything goes wrong, they will all have to deal with me breaking through a wall or door to protect you." Kasen said seriously as he took a seat next to Cyrus.   
"And I you." Cyrus hummed as he leaned up against Kasen's side.   
"Cyrus Kaimyo, report to my office immediately." Kenzo's voice came on over the speakers and Cyrus jolted slightly glancing at the time with a frown. A bit earlier than expected. All he could do was hope they were able to get everything set up in time. Cyrus stood before turning to Kasen stopping him from getting off the bed as he leaned down kissing him deeply as he crawled onto his lap as if they were the only two in the room. Kasen gasped slightly in surprise as he quickly moved his hands to support Cyrus as he kissed him back carefully taking Cyrus's tongue into his mouth and sucking on it for a moment. Cyrus sighed as he dragged his fingers through Kasen's hair as his head tilted a bit more to deepen the kiss. Kasen's face reddened as he slowly dragged his hands from Cyrus's waist to grab his ass giving it a gentle squeeze feeling Cyrus exhale softly against his lips as the kiss paused for a moment to catch each other's breath. Vyron cleared his throat slightly for a moment as he walked to the door.   
"I'll wait in the hall. You have 5 more minutes." Vyron sighed softly as he shut the door behind him. Cyrus didn't take his half open gaze off Kasen as he nodded slightly to Vyron's words before kissing him again gently biting at Kasen's lip before pressing a kiss to his lips then trailed kisses down Kasen's neck. Cyrus grabbed the collar of Kasen's shirt as he pulled it lower so his lips could add more.   
"I love you like I've loved nobody before." Cyrus breathed against Kasen's collarbone before gently biting and sucking on one spot. Kasen closed his eyes as he slowly untucked Cyrus's shirts and worked his hands up along his back, careful not to go up too high so he wouldn't hurt Cyrus with his ballistics vest tightly strapped around him.   
"I love you too, you're everything I've been missing in my life." Kasen whispered into Cyrus's ear before kissing it. Once Cyrus stopped sucking he paused to look over the hickey forming on Kasen's collarbone with a smirk, his face flushed as he met Kasen's eyes.   
"You want to leave one on me too?" Cyrus asked softly as Kasen nodded but debated on the right spot.   
"You can make it heal right? If you need to hide it?" Kasen questioned carefully. Cyrus shrugged slightly in response.  
"I've never tried it so I'm not sure." Cyrus whispered and Kasen suddenly picked Cyrus up as he stood and placed him down on the bed leaning over him.   
"Then I'll look for a good spot, do I have permission?" Kasen breathed and Cyrus nodded watching him closely.  
"Yes, I'm all yours." He whispered biting at his lip as Kasen carefully unclasped Cyrus's belt. Then carefully undid his pants and gently pulled them down to his knees pausing as he slowly ran his hands down the inside of Cyrus's thighs as he pulled them up so Cyrus's legs would be bent on either side of Kasen's head. Cyrus didn't think he could possibly blush any more as his face felt hot and couldn't take his eyes off Kasen. Kasen paused as he pressed a kiss along the inside of Cyrus's knee locking eyes with him as he kissed a few more trailing down. Cyrus bit at his lip as the lower Kasen kissed the more sensitive and ticklish it felt and squirmed slightly. Kasen gently looped his finger under the hem of Cyrus's tight black boxer briefs at his thigh and tugged down as he kissed more down Cyrus's thigh along the newly exposed skin till he couldn't go farther gently biting and sucking feeling Cyrus's fingers slide into his hair and slowly tightened as he let out a breathy moan shifting slightly under him. After Kasen pulled away he trailed his finger over the mark he left before gently tugging the hem back into place and Cyrus back into his pants.   
"Was that okay?" Kasen asked carefully as he kept his eyes lowered on what he was doing.  
"Y-yeah." Cyrus stammered out shyly as he watched Kasen carefully tuck his shirts back into his pants and clasp the belt before helping him up.  
"Good." Kasen whispered as he gently kissed Cyrus before cupping his face in his hands. "Be careful." Kasen breathed as he trailed his thumbs along Cyrus's cheeks affectionately.   
"I will." Cyrus said softly as he placed his hands over Kasen's. "Thank you." Cyrus whispered as his eyes lowered slowly.   
"For?" Kasen asked a bit unsure as he looked over Cyrus.   
"Just everything." Cyrus said as he took Kasen's hands and gently kissed them a few times. "See you in a few." Cyrus said quickly as he hugged Kasen one last time before heading out the door, holding it open for Kasen to follow.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

The walk to Kenzo’s office was silent and tense. Kasen took Cyrus by the arm pausing in the hallway where it branched off to the right Kenzo’s office and to the left the room they agreed to meet in.   
“Remember if you need me at all just call for me. Please be careful Cyrus... I love you.” Kasen said softly as he gently raised Cyrus’s chin so their eyes met. Cyrus shyly locked his gaze and drew a shaky breath before nodding.   
“I’ll let you know. I love you too Kasen.” Cyrus whispered softly before quickly raising up on his toes to kiss Kasen gently and almost bittersweet in a goodbye. Kasen blinked down at Cyrus worried as he watched him walk the rest of the way down the hall and come to a stop outside of the door. Kasen slowly turned away and headed into the room to meet with the rest of the group.  
After a few moments of standing there, Cyrus’s face serious and brows drawn together in concern he took the handle and shoved the door open. Sitting at the desk poised and intense stare was Kenzo as Cyrus stepped in and the door slammed behind him.   
“Cyrus, you’re looking rather well.” Kenzo said smoothly as he leaned forward in his chair slightly. “Come. Sit.” Kenzo said as he motioned to the empty chair across from his desk from where he sat. With a moment of hesitation Cyrus slowly crossed the room and began to lower himself into the chair.  
“You mean looking rather well for framing me and sending me off to some hospital to be killed indirectly by you?” Cyrus growled out as his ebony eyes narrowed on Kenzo’s intrigued expression.   
“I had no reason to frame you, especially since you were desperate enough to hurt yourself. Here, I can even show you the video.” Kenzo said with a dark chuckle as he shook his head, his expression changing to a disappointed look as he opened his laptop and slid it around for Cyrus to see the video pulled up begin to play. The images were grainy and hard to make out in black and white as Cyrus's brows drew together as he stared at himself in the back of a vehicle. There wasn't any sound to the video as Cyrus's head tilted as he saw him yell something but couldn't figure out what it was as he lifted a knife from the ground next to him. Hands shaking and tears running down his face as he dug it into his arm and dragged it down to his wrist before taking the knife in his teeth, unable to grab it with his other hand and cut into his other arm just the same. Cyrus couldn't take his eyes off the video as much as he wanted to, something feeling very wrong.   
"You don't remember any of this?" Kenzo questioned as he watched Cyrus's face very carefully.   
"This-" Cyrus struggled to speak as he swallowed hard, his thoughts racing as he tried to remember. Moments later someone moved over Cyrus and injected him with something in the video and Cyrus watched himself collapse completely knocked out. Cyrus knew he was at a loss for words as his brows drew together. "The frames are cut. This isn’t the full video you’re trying to twist what actually happened.” Cyrus demanded as he slammed the laptop closed.  
“Why would I need to twist the truth? Then tell me what actually happened?” Kenzo responded with a slight smirk as he watched Cyrus’s face pale and his eyes lower. Cyrus felt like his throat was getting tight and his hands felt sweaty as he shifted unable to speak for quite some time.   
“I-I can’t.” Cyrus forced out his voice almost a whisper. Kenzo leaned back with a smug expression.   
“What a shame. You almost had me convinced you thought I’d do something so terrible.” Kenzo sneered. Cyrus’s head lifted sharply as he glared down Kenzo.   
“What the hell do you mean? You sent me off to a hospital to be killed! Everything I’m saying you did I know for a fact is true!” Cyrus insisted as his voice raised slightly.   
“Yet you have no proof nor can you recount anything that has happened. You're broken and worthless sitting here before me making up pathetic tales.” Kenzo said coldly as his hands folded on the desk. Cyrus sat still as Kenzo’s words sank in as his face fell.   
“Are you experiencing side effects as well or just a failure to follow orders and actually be the son I’ve been trying to raise you to be?” Kenzo questioned darkly. Cyrus swallowed hard as he took a deep breath, his voice shaking as he spoke.  
“I’ll never be what you want me to be. I’m nothing like you.” Cyrus spat out as his hands tightened into fists.   
“Quite true, you're nothing like me. I don’t make pathetic excuses every night so I can sleep better. For example the American you keep close by, it’s clear that man doesn’t actually care for you. How could he? Look at yourself. He is using you so he can follow orders. I’ve looked into Kasen Blackwood, perhaps you should have too before you blindly threw away what semblance of a life you had for a hollow lie.” Kenzo said smoothly watching the way his words were as if a knife was being twisted into Cyrus.   
“You’re wrong...” Cyrus breathed out as he shook his head trying to collect his thoughts and emotions.  
“Am I? I think we both know that someone as impressive as him wouldn’t have time for someone like you. After all, you did kill nearly all of his base. Only someone insane would forgive something like that or perhaps... under orders?” Kenzo purred as Cyrus’s breathing began to become unsteady as tears threatened to spill out of his eyes. “But do I even need to mention you were tasked to kill the whole base. You can’t seem to do anything right. After all, you’re still alive.” Kenzo said and clicked his tongue a few times as he gave a disappointed head shake. “I’d love to see the moment he shows his true colors and you realised just how right I am.” Kenzo chuckled as Cyrus shook his head a few times, his hands moving up to his temples as he tried to calm down. "How does it feel Cyrus? Standing at the bottom of the pile of all those bodies of those you killed and knowing you're still never going to be good enough or keep the ones you care about?" Kenzo questioned as he slowly stood pleased as Cyrus didn’t react since he was too distracted by trying to fight his own emotions and thoughts to notice. "The wrongs you've made Cyrus will forever stay with you, you will never live whatever fantasy life you think you could have. Time to face reality. You're an experimental soldier that has reached the end of the line, it’s clear by how you look you’ve started to decline in health. Vyron should have never bothered to try and save you. Really such a shame, you're what was born, I was hoping for so much more." Kenzo said coldly as he dropped the stack of papers on the desk as he walked around it and Cyrus looked at them his eyes widened as he recognized them as papers from his filing cabinet that was broken into.   
“No. No you’re wrong about everything. And-” Cyrus struggled to find words as he looked at Kenzo struggling to get out of the chair staggering away from Kenzo as he drew close, fear flashing in his eyes. Kenzo chuckled as he looked over Cyrus’s expression as he tilted his head.   
“Why are you so on edge? Do you truly feel your life is in danger right now? We’re just talking after all.” Kenzo said smoothly as he corrected his course to where Cyrus was slowly backing away and towards the wall.   
“It would be very unlikely you would kill me yourself and in your office.” Cyrus stammered as he glanced back as his back brushed the wall and his breath caught not even realizing he had been backing away from Kenzo.   
“Is that so?” Kenzo purred as a grin slowly spread on his face. "Once you're removed from the picture for your crimes and defective existence, I'll make sure that your American lover gets some special attention as well, wouldn’t that be a nice way to tie up loose ends to your wasted life?" Kenzo chuckled darkly as he watched Cyrus's head tilt sharply at a slight angle, his eyes narrowed into a glare.  
"Over my dead body. I will never allow you to hurt Kasen in any way." Cyrus growled as he pulled Kasen's knife from his vest.  
"Unfortunately that's easily arranged." Kenzo said with a grin as he pulled a gun from the back of his pants. Kenzo never carried guns like that on him and Cyrus knew he made a terrible mistake as the sound of the gun firing echoed around the room, the bullet slamming through Cyrus's leg. Cyrus let out a pained hiss as his breath sucked in as he stumbled his hands lifting defensively as the echo of another round went off slamming into Cyrus's ballistics vest causing him to cough, trying to catch his breath, his rib aching in pain. The third shot Cyrus felt like time suddenly slowed down as blood ran down the side of his face as he hit the floor. Cyrus laid there in a daze as his hand raised finding the source of the blood at his temple. Kenzo closed the space between them in just a few moments grabbing Cyrus by a handful of his hair and slammed his head down against the ground.   
"Looks like you're farther into the decay of side effects then I had thought. Time to see if you can actually die." Kenzo said coldly. Cyrus couldn't count how many times his head slammed into the floor as he sputtered out the only words he could manage to form.   
"Blackwood-" Cyrus breathed weakly and moments later the door was kicked open with distant voices of yelling. Cyrus's eyes felt heavy as his blinks slowed, struggling to keep them open as he laid there everything spinning around him. He knew he had a matter of seconds to make his last attempt and weakly thrusted Kasen's knife at Kenzo. The warmth of blood against his face was the last thing he could feel as he felt his body go cold then numb as he lost consciousness. 

Kasen stood watching the live video of Cyrus and Kenzo as Laura held his arm firmly to keep him from running out of the room to Cyrus.   
"Let go of me, this is enough information. We need to get Cyrus out!" Kasen demanded his voice echoing the panic he was feeling.  
"Not yet, Cyrus has things under control." Laura said evenly. "You're all to remain in this room till I give the order to act. I shouldn't have to say the consequences if orders aren't followed." She said sharply.  
The room fell silent for a moment as the three rounds went off and Kasen's blood ran cold as his head snapped back to the video as he made out Cyrus whispering his last name. Kasen watched in stunned silence for a moment as he watched Kenzo violently slam Cyrus's head into the floor multiple times as blood ran out of Cyrus's ears and nose. Kasen yanked his arm from Laura's hold as he ran from the room and rounded the corner of the hall to Kenzo's office kicking the door open, the frame splintered and broke from the force of the lock slamming against it. Kasen pulled a gun as he trained it on Kenzo.   
"Get the hell away from Cyrus or I swear to god I'll shoot you right where you are!" Kasen yelled as he shook with rage watching Kenzo pause as his gaze fell on Kasen.   
"I expected you to come sooner." Kenzo said smoothly, smirking as he let go of Cyrus's half held up head.  
Cyrus laid completely limp, his eyes closed as Kasen looked him over hoping to catch him draw a breath. "I believe though you may have made a poor choice coming here alone. After all think how this will look to those you work for." Kenzo said grinning darkly for a moment before Cyrus suddenly moved, stabbing the blade into Kenzo's chest. Cyrus's body immediately gave out and crumpled to the floor as Kenzo stared down at Cyrus stunned as he struggled to stand his breathing being wheezy as he pulled Kasen's knife from his chest tossing it to the floor next to Cyrus.   
"I don't give a fuck what you think." Kasen snapped as he nodded for Kenzo to move away from Cyrus. "Kick the gun to me and walk to that side of the room now!" Kasen ordered as Vyron reached the room standing in the doorway, his face serious as he looked everyone over. Behind him the members of the board. Kenzo's face fell as his eyes fell on the board members before glancing at the clock on the wall and Kasen tense as he realized that Kenzo was stalling.   
"Call for medical professional now." Kasen said quickly, looking over his shoulder as Vyron's eyes widened.   
"Kenzo, no!" Vyron yelled pointing as Kasen's head turned sharply as Kenzo had grabbed the gun off the floor and took aim at Cyrus's head as the sound of a gun going off filled the room. Vyron ran past Kasen and paused half way to Cyrus as Kenzo swayed, dropping to the floor dead. Blood seeping out from where the bullet went through his head and Vyron slowly looked over his shoulder to Kasen who stood there slowly lowering his gun, switching it to safety as he slowly placed it on the floor as alarms began to go off as soldiers came rushing to the room. Kasen slowly fell to his knees holding his hands behind his head voices flooded the room of what was going on.   
"Tell me he is still alive." Kasen said softly as his eyes rested on Cyrus. Vyron knelt down pressing his fingers to Cyrus's neck and felt around a bit frowning as he pulled off his shirt and pressed to Cyrus's head where his skull had cracked open to try and stop any more blood loss.   
"Just barely." Vyron breathed as his shoulders sagged as his eye moved back to Kasen as soldiers came in and pushed Kasen down to the ground cuffing him.   
"I'll see what can be done once Cyrus gets stable." Vyron said evenly and Kasen nodded slightly as he took one last look at Cyrus before he was dragged out of the room.   
The hallway was packed with people looking around whispering.  
"Kenzo is dead?"   
"That man shot him?"  
"Cyrus is badly injured, Kenzo did it?" The voices echoed around Kasen as he kept his eyes on the floor as he was pulled along through the base.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

Kasen soon found himself at a section of base he wasn't familiar with and was being completely stripped and searched to make sure he didn't have weapons. Kasen quickly changed into the prison scrubs and chains were bound around his ankles and wrists as he was tossed into a cell. Kasen slowly pulled himself up off the floor as he blinked in the dim light and around his cell with just a flat cot to lay on off to the side and a toilet on the other side of the cell. Across the way the sound of laughter filled the room.   
"Well if it isn't Kasen." Ayato sneered grinning as he moved to the bars of his cell to look across the way at Kasen.   
"Kenzo threw you in jail once you and Cyrus tried to come back?" Ayato questioned with a smirk looking over Kasen's serious face.   
"No. I killed Kenzo." Kasen said seriously as he took a seat on the cot hearing Ayato fall silent immediately, he wasn't stupid enough to think Kasen was lying about it.   
"And what of Cyrus?" Ayato asked carefully as he eyed Kasen.   
"He is... I don't know. He is getting medical treatment right now, probably will need surgery or something." Kasen breathed as he gritted his teeth as he felt his throat tighten as he thought of Cyrus laying there and swallowed hard trying to keep the tears held back.   
"Well damn." Ayato sighed as he looked away from Kasen. "I'm sad I missed out." Ayato breathed.   
"Go to hell." Kasen growled as he laid down, a bit thankful anger pushed away his tears for the moment.   
"You're probably going to die before I do." Ayato said calmly as he laid down on his cot.  
"Yeah, probably." Kasen whispered as he closed his eyes, hoping Vyron would come soon. 

Cyrus slowly opened his eyes as the sound of medical beeping and voices talking in the distance filled his ears and he jolted the heart beat monitor picking up. Vyron suddenly appeared leaning over Cyrus so he could see his face.  
"Hey kid, it's okay." Vyron said gently, but his face was deeply troubled. "You're going to need to help us out a bit and heal some, can you do that?" Vyron asked softly. Cyrus frowned as he focused more on reading Vyron's lips for quite some time.   
"Yeah." Cyrus breathed out in Russian weakly as he tried to focus feeling a bit unsure if anything was even happening. After a bit Vyron's voice came louder to Cyrus's ears.   
"Okay that's good for now." Vyron said seriously as he took a cloth and wiped away blood from Cyrus's face. Cyrus blinked for a moment confused that he didn't feel anything.   
"Is there something wrong with me?" Cyrus questioned in Russian as Vyron paused listening carefully to what he had said.   
"No, the drugs haven't fully weared off yet. But they will still check everything to see if there was any damage." Vyron said softly.   
"My head?" Cyrus breathed and Vyron nodded concerned.   
"It was very serious." Vyron sighed as he looked away.  
"Where is Kasen?" Cyrus breathed, his brows drawing together.   
"We will talk about it once you're a bit better." Vyron said evenly with a frown.  
"No, I want him here with me. What happened?" Cyrus questioned his heart rate spiking a bit.  
"He killed Kenzo." Vyron sighed as he looked back to Cyrus who laid there a bit stunned.   
"To save my life." Cyrus whispered and Vyron pressed his lips together.   
"There isn't anything I can do right now Cyrus. He still killed a general and he is an overseas agent." Vyron said carefully. Cyrus's eyes narrowed slightly on Vyron as he thought it over.  
"I order Kasen to be released, he works for me. Luna can confirm his file is in the restricted database." Cyrus said firmly, causing Vyron to pause.   
"Cyrus..." Vyron began before a voice spoke up.   
"So you take full responsibility for Kasen killing Kenzo? He was to be arrested. Murder is completely different." Laura spoke up as she walked up to the bed. Cyrus frowned as he stared her down.   
"I'll take full responsibility." Cyrus whispered and she clicked her tongue in disapproval.   
"Cyrus you understand what that means for you right?" Vyron questioned seriously.   
"Yes, now please bring me Kasen." Cyrus whispered as he looked away. Vyron looked to Laura at a bit of a loss.   
"This is madness." Laura hissed frustrated as she nodded to Vyron. "Very well, you may collect him if you wish. But the cuffs stay on until I say so." Laura said walking away and Vyron slowly stood looking down at Cyrus a bit unsure for a moment before leaving as well. 

Kasen sat up as the sound of multiple footsteps echoed down the hallway and Vyron came into view, Kasen's clothes and boots in his arms. Kasen figured the bag on Vyron's back was the rest of his things. One of the security guards opened the cell and Vyron entered, dropping Kasen's things next to him.   
"Cyrus is taking the fall for you." Vyron said evenly, watching Kasen's face closely. Kasen sat there frozen in shock for a few moments. "Get dressed now. Cyrus is waiting for you." Vyron ordered and Kasen staggered to his feet as Vyron leaned down removing the chains from Kasen's ankles and undid one of the cuffs. Kasen quickly pulled his clothes on, his mind racing.   
"What happens now to Cyrus? What do you mean he is taking the fall?" Kasen questioned evenly as Vyron locked the cuff back into place once Kasen was dressed and shoes on pulling him along.   
"He claimed that you work for him. There's a few possible ways he could go about it but... it's so much grey area to what happened." Vyron said coldly. "He would most likely be stripped of everything because it would mean if you had been cleared to kill Kenzo everything was pre-planned." Vyron said darkly.   
"What the hell do you mean?! If I didn't shoot Cyrus would most definitely be dead right now!" Kasen yelled at Vyron as he stopped walking with him.   
"You don't think I'm thankful you saved Cyrus's life? But you're not one of us, you killing him changes everything." Vyron snapped.   
"And you're one of them too? I think you're just protecting Cyrus. With the right digging would result in a very similar situation as right now." Kasen growled and Vyron slapped him hard.   
"Shut the hell up. Don't spit out things if you don't understand any of the consequences for everyone." Vyron snapped grabbing Kasen's by the front of the shirt shaking him slightly. "Damnit Kasen, you make me so pissed. You behaved like I did when I was your age. But I won't let that stop me from correcting you. Behave yourself or I'll just toss you on a plane back to the U.S. right now, do you understand?!" Vyron demanded inches from Kasen's face.  
"Yes Sir." Kasen whispered slowly lowering his eyes as Vyron gritted his teeth for a moment before pulling him along once more. They walked the rest of the way to the base hospital in silence and Kasen slowly entered Cyrus's room and paused watching Cyrus be pulled to sit up as a doctor checked over his muscles and reflexes carefully. Cyrus's head carefully wrapped around the wound, his hair pulled up into a lopsided bun and Kasen wondered if they had to shave any of his hair.   
"Hey Cyrus." Kasen said softly slowly approaching as Cyrus turned to look at him over his shoulder, smiling weakly. He looked incredibly pale, dark shadows under his eyes and his cheekbones stood out quite a bit more. Kasen paused as he saw a cotton ball pressed up into one side of his nose, already soaked with blood. "You need some of your mom's medicine?" Kasen asked carefully.   
"Kasen, no I'm okay right now." Cyrus said softly and paused when he saw the cuffs on Kasen, his face falling slightly.   
"I'm so sorry Cyrus-" Kasen stammered as he watched Cyrus's face fall once he saw the cuffs. "I couldn't let him kill you- I just acted and..." Kasen trailed off his voice wavering as he looked away.  
"Hey, come here." Cyrus said softly and Kasen slowly walked over to him and looked a bit unsure as Cyrus patted for him to sit on the bed so he could be as close as possible. "You heard me call out for help didn't you?" Cyrus said softly, slowly taking Kasen's hand in his as he kept his eyes lowered.   
"Yeah, I did." Kasen said softly as he bit at his lip.   
"And you came and protected me when I asked." Cyrus whispered gently, lacing his fingers with Kasen’s. "You kept your promise." Cyrus breathed as he slowly leaned forward about to kiss Kasen and paused for a moment.   
"May I?" Cyrus whispered and Kasen closed the distance carefully kissing him back as he resisted pulling him tightly to him not wanting to hurt Cyrus in any way.   
"Of course." Kasen breathed once their lips parted. "I'm so thankful you're alive." Kasen sighed as he gazed into Cyrus's ebony eyes. Cyrus smiled shyly as he shifted to carefully lay down pulling Kasen with him as he cuddled up against him.   
"Vyron can you take off the cuffs?" Cyrus asked softly. Vyron frowned as he folded his arms looking Cyrus and Kasen over.  
"Laura had ordered that Kasen stay restrained." Vyron replied evenly meeting Cyrus's cold stare.  
"Kasen isn't a threat and shouldn't be in cuffs. And she can come to me if she has an issue with that." Cyrus said firmly. Vyron walked over grabbing Kasen's wrists as he undid the cuffs and tossed them aside onto a chair.  
"I'm pissed for my own reasons, nothing to take personally." Vyron sighed as he looked to Cyrus. "You understand?" He asked his tone softening a bit.  
"Sure?" Cyrus responded as he looked over Vyron for a moment.  
"I'm going to go handle some of the important stuff, I'll be back later." Vyron said nodding to them before heading out of the room. Cyrus paused for a moment in thought before his attention shifted back to Kasen.  
"Once I recover we have to go back don't we? What are you going to do?" Cyrus asked carefully and Kasen frowned slightly.   
"I'm not completely sure. But do you trust me?" Kasen asked softly as he searched Cyrus's eyes.  
"Yes I do." Cyrus whispered as he shifted so he could lay more comfortably on his uninjured side as he cuddled his back against Kasen, who happily shifted to be the big spoon.   
"Cyrus, we need to hook you up for the blood transfusion." A nurse said gently as Cyrus carefully held out his arm as she got him all set up and the needle in place, bandaging him up so I wouldn't see it.   
"I must look pretty awful." Cyrus chuckled weakly as Kasen gently pressed a kiss to the back of his neck.   
"You look as expected for what happened." Kasen breathed gently. "You okay though? Where are you at thought wise?" Kasen asked gently as he hugged Cyrus with his one arm carefully.  
"I'm okay now that you're here with me." Cyrus sighed as he took Kasen's hand and pulled it up to his face gently kissing it over. Kasen hummed in thought for a moment at Cyrus's answer, or lack of a straightforward one.   
"Will you lose your job? Or be demoted?" Kasen whispered softly, not sure if he almost preferred the first so it would be easier to be together but felt guilt wash over himself for considering it.   
"I will probably have to make an official statement explaining that it was in self defense, you took his life to save mine. I-I should have done something as soon as he pulled the gun out. I should have left. I just didn't think he would want to kill me right in his office, a lot harder to sweep under the rug." Cyrus whispered as he gently squeezed Kasen's hand as he pressed it to his forehead as he closed his eyes tightly.   
"I probably would have made an excuse that you suddenly lost it from what I could make of the conversation. What was the video he showed you?" Kasen questioned carefully as he felt Cyrus's breath catch for a moment.   
"It wasn't anything important." Cyrus replied, his voice shaking slightly as he gently loosened his grip on Kasen's hand. "Besides a lot of it was edited so it never gave the full picture." Cyrus mumbled.   
"So you rather not talk about it?" Kasen asked, deciding to be more blunt to see if he could get a better answer.   
"I just don't remember it, so I don't want to discuss it." Cyrus answered a bit more on edge and Kasen sighed softly frowning.  
"I understand, I'm sorry." Kasen whispered gently, moving his arm back down around Cyrus's torso to hug him close.   
"It's alright... I know you're asking to make sure it wasn't something important right?" Cyrus asked as he turned his head carefully to look to Kasen.  
"Yes, I also want to be able to better understand everything that happened. After you saw it you got really shook up, it clearly got to you enough that you lost focus." Kasen said seriously as he locked his gaze with Cyrus's, his expression becoming concerned as Cyrus hesitated looking like he was going to say something. "Cyrus?" Kasen questioned as his eyebrow raised.  
"You can look at it if you want." Cyrus sighed looking away as he shifted to get a bit more comfortable. Kasen nodded slightly as he sighed.  
"Get some rest, I'll still be right here when you wake." He said gently before kissing the back of Cyrus's neck.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

It didn't take long for Cyrus to fall instantly asleep and Kasen shifted ever so carefully to lay more comfortably next to him as he sighed before pressing his hands up to his face. The sound of the door opening and closing pulled Kasen back and he slowly lowered his hands blinking a few times getting the sense he had spaced off for quite some time. Vyron walked over to the bed with a serious expression before pointing to Kasen and then to the hall. Kasen gritted his teeth as he stared at Vyron, tempted to tell him no before finally sitting up looking at Cyrus as he shifted slightly worried he woke him for a moment. Kasen let out the breath he was holding as Cyrus let out a very soft sigh cuddling up a bit more in the blankets, still sound asleep.   
"I'll be right back, I'm sorry." Kasen whispered, kissing Cyrus's shoulder gently before getting out of the bed and pausing to write a quick note to Cyrus. Kasen carefully placed it where he had been laying before following Vyron.   
"What do you want?" Kasen questioned as soon as they got out into the hall.   
"Shut up and walk with me." Vyron said evenly as he lit his cigar and started walking. Kasen frowned as he shoved his hands in his pockets trailing along behind Vyron till they were up on the roof.   
"Why are we up here?" Kasen questioned looking over the greenhouse and the empty obstacle course.   
"Sit." Vyron sighed as he pointed to a bench and Vyron sat down letting out a slow exhale of smoke. Kasen sat down next to him crossing one leg over the other and folded his arms across his chest as he looked at Vyron with raised eyebrows.   
"There are some things we need to discuss." Vyron began with a tired sigh. As he pulled out another cigar and held it out to Kasen.   
"Okay?" Kasen replied as he slowly accepted the cigar glancing it over slightly before putting it between his lips and held his hand out as Vyron fished for his lighter.   
"I looked over the video." Vyron said quietly as he dropped the lighter into Kasen's hand and watched him closely as he lit the cigar and passed the lighter back.   
"And? What happened?" Kasen questioned evenly as he took an inhale and paused wondering if Vyron was having him smoke so he had to pace his breathing a bit more.   
"You should watch it for yourself." Vyron said as he pulled out his phone and pulled it up.   
"I had the files off of Kenzo's computer pulled to my phone so I can look it over for anything useful." Vyron whispered and Kasen frowned slightly taking the phone.   
"Better erase it as soon as you can so they don't think you sent him the information." Kasen said seriously as he glanced at Vyron before clicking play. Kasen tensed as he watched Cyrus in the back of the van, his heart sinking as he realized when this video was taken. The longer he watched the more his brows drew together before he had to look away after the blood began to run down Cyrus's arms. Kasen closed his eyes tightly, keeping his head turned away from Vyron as he forced himself to take a deep breath, his thoughts racing.   
"Can we recover the full video without the edits?" Kasen questioned, hoping his voice sounded steady.   
"Joey is working on it as we speak... but there is no guarantee." Vyron said, taking his phone back from Kasen.   
"Do you think it's whatever drugs they injected into him that is making him forget?" Kasen asked carefully as he finally looked back to Vyron.   
"Possible, or Cyrus remembers some of it but thinks it's not real." Vyron suggested as he slipped his phone back into his pocket.   
"Does Laura and the others know that Cyrus will have to leave with me soon?" Kasen asked, meeting Vyron's intense stare.   
"Has to? Or you don't want to walk away from your life there?" Vyron questioned coldly.   
"Look Vyron you don't understand. My life hasn't been bad there, I work hard and... that's it." Kasen trailed off looking away in thought now feeling even more lost and unsure.   
"And where does Cyrus come in? If you're always working then what does Director Ravencroft have planned for him?" Vyron questioned harshly.   
"I don't know what the Director is planning. But I can keep him safe." Kasen said quietly.  
"How?" Vyron snapped as he stared at Kasen.  
"I-I'll make sure he is always with me. I'll do whatever it takes." Kasen breathed.   
"Then don't go at all, because that is something you can't control and a price you wouldn't be willing to pay." Vyron said evenly as he exhaled smoke out the side of his mouth.   
"I just have to." Kasen said evenly as he gritted his teeth feeling frustrated.   
"You won't stand a chance as soon as Ravencroft questions you it's all over." Vyron said, grabbing Kasen's shoulder so he would turn to look at him again.   
"How would you know exactly?" Kasen questioned as his eyes narrowed.  
"Because I used to work under him. I was a spy, but I kept one shoe on both sides. I fell in love with Rose and yet I wanted to keep my work and didn't want to lose respect from those I cared about. Ravencroft suspected one of the members of my team to have betrayed us and began questioning. My friend that was questioned before me turned out to be also involved in affairs overseas and was killed on the spot. It doesn't matter if you're in a special program, Kasen. Ravencroft will see right through you immediately, if he hasn't already. And then they will either kill Cyrus or keep him imprisoned for the rest of his life after you're dead." Vyron said evenly, staring down Kasen. "So you still want to go?" Vyron questioned as his eye narrowed.   
"I-" Kasen trailed off, more shocked about Vyron's past than anything. The silence between them felt heavy and uncomfortable as Kasen tried to think and jumped as a familiar ring tone began to go off. Kasen spun towards Vyron staring him down defensively.   
"What the hell, you have my phone?" Kasen questioned.   
"Of course, you just got out of prison are you an idiot?" Vyron sighed as he pulled it out and glanced over the number as he passed it to Kasen. Kasen frowned, recognizing Ravencroft's number as he got to his feet walking over to the obstacle course.  
"Perfect timing." Kasen muttered under his breath before answering the call.  
"Hello?" Kasen asked defensively before Ravencroft could speak.   
"You sound tense Kasen, I want your next report." Director Ravencroft said smoothly as he waited.  
"Kenzo is dead." Kasen answered shortly as he gritted his teeth feeling his heart speed up.  
"Ah good news then. You are to return with the hostage tomorrow." The Director said evenly.  
"Tomorrow isn't going to work." Kasen said hesitating a bit after it came out.   
"And why is that?" The Director asked, sounding intrigued.  
"Because there are still members of the board here speaking with Cyrus. If I take him now someone will see. I need a few days." Kasen sighed as his hands clenched into fists wondering if he was convincing enough.   
"It's not because Cyrus is injured?" Ravencroft asked, causing Kasen to freeze his heart feeling like it had jumped to his throat.   
"What?" Kasen breathed trying to keep his voice even and calm. "He had some injury from the fight with Kenzo but that's not the reason I said we need a few days." Kasen replied evenly, pressing his lips together.   
"Interesting." Ravencroft chuckled as Kasen could hear the creak of him leaning back in the chair. Kasen stood there on edge unsure if he should say something or let the silence continue. "You will know when I want you to return back. I decided when and how it happens, Kasen. You haven't forgotten your place have you?" Ravencroft asked and Kasen shifted slightly frowning.  
"No, I haven't." He said carefully before the sound of Ravencroft hanging up filled his ear. Kasen shoved his phone away in his pocket as he stood there for a moment lost in thought.   
"Let's go, Joey has something he wants to show Cyrus and us." Vyron called over to Kasen as he waited at the doorway to head back into the building. Kasen nodded slightly as he struggled to relax and turned to the training dummy swinging a punch and paused as the sound of snapping echoed across the roof as it toppled over, broken. Kasen stood there for a moment drawing a deep breath as he ran his fingers up through his hair closing his eyes collecting himself after a bit and then turned to catch up with Vyron.   
"You feel better after punching something?" Vyron questioned eyeing Kasen as they walked down the hall towards Cyrus's medical room.   
"Not really." Kasen sighed a scowl on his face till they pushed open the door and Kasen's eyes locked with Cyrus's. He was leaned up in the bed mid sentence with Joey and his dark eyes searched Kasen's face.  
"Everything okay?" Cyrus asked weakly as his eyes moved to Vyron suspiciously.  
"Everything is fine." Kasen said his tone and expression softened as he walked over to the bed, Vyron close behind.  
"Alright so here is the full clip I found from a different camera. And it definitely ties up the loose ends." Joey said seriously as he held a laptop so they could all see the screen as he pressed play. Cyrus leaned in closer as he watched himself get tossed into the van unconscious and slowly begin to come to. Kenzo in frame waiting across from Cyrus out of the vision of the camera in the previous footage had come from. Three armed men stood calmly next to him watching Cyrus's every move. Hazily Cyrus slowly pulled himself to sit up, his expression darkened as soon as he saw Kenzo. The speech still not coming through but the situation became quickly easy to understand as Kenzo held out his phone showing a live feed of all the members of the base packed out into the yard looking around in confusion as they waited for the drill to end. The video zoomed in till Kasen came into focus standing still as his head slowly turned trying to pick Cyrus out of the massive crowd around him, his expression tense and troubled. As the video zoomed back out it widened till the location on a rooftop became obvious and Ayato laid out a sniper in his hands and scoped in on Kasen.   
"We don't need to see any more." Cyrus breathed as his eyes widened as soon as it switched off of Kasen and to Ayato. Kasen stood there pulling his eyes from the video and to Cyrus as he turned away from them on the bed his heartbeat picking up till Cyrus pulled the finger monitor off as a tear ran down his cheek.   
"Cyrus?" Kasen asked gently as he sank down to sit on the bed next to him reaching out to carefully wipe away the tear.   
"What?" Cyrus hissed defensively as he looked back to Kasen with a cold look for a moment before his lip trembled.   
"I'm here okay?" Kasen breathed carefully pulling him into a hug as Cyrus broke down finally.   
"I had to do it." Cyrus sobbed as Kasen gently rubbed his back holding him as close as possible.   
"So Kenzo threatened to kill Kazen unless you followed his orders. He wanted to create his own evidence that he could use to frame you." Vyron muttered more to himself as he began to pace a bit. "Thank God Joey found this. It prevents things from getting messy with the hospital and saves your reputation for the file on this case." Vyron sighed.  
"I don't want to think about this anymore." Cyrus sniffled out as he kept his face pressed into Kasen's chest before he suddenly began to cough. Cyrus pushed back from Kasen as his hands moved to his mouth as violent coughs shook his body till he was gasping and wheezing in pain between them and Kasen's face paled as blood ran out between Cyrus's fingers. Vyron ran and hit the emergency button on the bed as medical staff came running in, guiding Kasen off to the side. Kasen stood there stunned and feeling helpless as Vyron and Joey stood silently by him. As Cyrus finally caught his breath his hands slowly lowered, shaking as his ebony eyes took in the blood covering them and a nurse gently wiped at the blood running down Cyrus's chin and neck.   
"Fuck." Cyrus whispered as he collapsed back against the bed as his eyes fluttered shut as he fainted. The medical staff was in a frenzy around Cyrus and suddenly Kasen found himself in the hall with Vyron and Joey.  
"That was one of the severe side effects wasn't it?" Kasen whispered numbly as he slowly looked to Vyron's grave expansion.  
"Yes." Vyron breathed looking away as he dabbed at his eyes trying to fight back tears.   
"I'm going to give you two some space, call me when things start to improve." Joey said gently patting Kasen's back before heading off.   
"Kasen... I've been harsh and angry with you because I'm pissed at myself." Vyron sighed as he kept his gaze lowered. "In the room as we watched things unfold for the worse with Kenzo, I followed Laura's order not to act until she gave the call. And as I watched you struggle to hold back till you couldn't... I was ashamed that I wasn't the first to run to Cyrus's side." Vyron said bitterly. "You did the right thing. I just... having a hard time coming to terms with my choice." Vyron whispered. Kasen shifted his brows drawing together as he looked away too.   
"I figured that there would be less backlash if I broke the rules anyway. Not like I have to listen to her orders." Kasen sighed frowning. "Honestly I'm having some issues with Laura's decision to not act sooner. I don't think she was going to even make the call. She should be looked into." Kasen said, looking to Vyron and their gaze locked.   
"That's definitely something I can do." Vyron breathed and Kasen nodded as he extended his hand to Vyron.  
"Are we all good for now then? I obviously know you will hunt me down and kill me if I take Cyrus to the U.S. and things go south." Kasen said softly. Vyron took Kasen's hand after a moment, listening to his every word.  
"That's correct. Good for now." Vyron said with a tired sigh shaking Kasen's hand. The door opened and a nurse stuck her head out into the hall giving a slight warm smile.  
"It's okay to come back in now." She said softly and quickly got out of the way as Kasen came rushing in looking at Cyrus laying on the bed, new iv lines hooked up and an oxygen tube pressed under his nose as he breathed weakly sleeping.   
"Do you know when he will come to? Will it happen again?" Kasen questioned the nurse closest to Cyrus checking him over.   
"We will need to call in the specialist. But only time will tell for the rest, I'm sorry." The man said gently before they cleared the room leaving Kasen hovering over Cyrus and Vyron watching silently for a while.   
"I'm going to get you some food. Call me if anything happens while I'm gone." Vyron said tiredly as he turned closing the door behind him. Kasen bit at his lip hard as he took Cyrus's cold hand in his and gently pressed his other hand on top hoping to warm him up as large tears began to run down his cheeks.  
"You will be okay, alright? No dying at all is allowed." Kasen breathed out as he held back a sob pressing Cyrus hand to his forehead as he began to cry harder. "I love you." Kasen whispered and his soul almost left his body as he heard a weak and raspy voice respond.   
"I love you too." Cyrus breathed starting to wake as his ebony eyes lowered to Kasen. Kasen quickly stood wiping at his face as it began to redden and clear his throat.  
"I'm sorry I'm causing you to become upset." Cyrus whispered as his eyes blinked slow and it was clear he was barely awake.  
"I'm fine. You should rest." Kasen said gently rubbing his hand against Cyrus's.   
"You still have the medicine my mom gave you?" Cyrus asked carefully and Kasen nodded as he looked to the chair where Vyron had kicked the bag under and unzipped it, relieved to find the pill bottle.   
"You need water?" Kasen asked softly as he read over the label and grabbed two of the pills.  
"Yes." Cyrus answered weakly as he let out a soft and breathy cough. Kasen rushed to the little sink and filled up a cup quickly heading back to Cyrus's side carefully placing the pills into Cyrus's mouth and slowly tipped the cup to Cyrus's lips and watched closely for how much to pour into his mouth. Cyrus struggled to swallow for a moment and let out a sigh once he was able.  
"Thank you." Cyrus mumbled in Russian as Kasen set the cup aside.   
"It's the least I can do. Do you want me to lay with you again?" Kasen asked softly watching Cyrus's hand ever so slightly pat the bed.   
"You will have to move me a bit, but yes." Cyrus breathed out in Russian and Kasen carefully lifted Cyrus ever so slightly so he could move him over just a touch to have space to lay down and crawled in next to him gently pulling him back into his arms.  
"How is your head?" Kasen questioned as he kept his face a safe distance from the top of Cyrus's head worried he would hurt him by cuddling his face against it like he normally did.   
"I think it's coming along." Cyrus responded in Russian as his chest heaved slightly as Cyrus yawned.   
"Mmn, good." Kasen sighed feeling a bit more at ease.   
"Can I kiss you before you fall back asleep?" Kasen asked carefully and he felt Cyrus's body shake for a moment and sat up quickly worried until he realized he was silently laughing.   
"Yes Kasen, you can kiss me literally whenever." Cyrus answered, smiling weakly at Kasen as he turned to look at him better. Kasen's face reddened as he lowered his eyes, feeling a bit embarrassed before ever so gently pressing a kiss to Cyrus's lips and his breath caught as he felt Cyrus struggle to press his lips fully against Kasen's.   
"Let me know if you need anything, literally anything." Kasen said seriously as he searched Cyrus's eyes.  
"Okay." Cyrus whispered, staring over Kasen's face affectionately before he started to drift to sleep his body finally giving out. Kasen laid there drifting to sleep as well feeling exhausted from all the stress.


	19. Chapter Nineteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Date? They going on a date?! Just some cuteness before things get intense.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \--Just a warning gets adult at the end and there is heavy alcohol consumption in this chapter--

Kasen's pale green eyes ever so slowly drifted open as he began to wake. He paused as his gaze focused on Cyrus cuddled up against him, his calm and soft face inches from Kasen's. Ever so gently he reached out pressing his hand to Cyrus's cheek as he rubbed his thumb against it in thought as his eyes lowered to Cyrus's lips and smiled to himself. The position on his side and how thick the pillows cushioned his head made him look as if he was either pouting or trying to give a kiss. Kasen never thought he would ever find someone he loved as much as Cyrus, but yet here he was and the minutes like these felt absolutely perfect. Kasen shifted carefully lower so he could delicately press a kiss to Cyrus's lip. As soon as his lips parted from Cyrus's, a soft sigh caused Kasen's face to go red as Cyrus's hand slowly trailed up Kasen's chest as he began to wake.   
"Morning." Cyrus whispered his words slightly slurred and mumbled out just barely awake.  
"I'm sorry, you can sleep more." Kasen said softly as he let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.   
"Waking up like this is... nice." Cyrus whispered as a slight smile pulled at his lips. His dark ebony eyes slowly blinked open slightly so he could meet Kasen's gaze. "I had a dream. A good one actually." Cyrus breathed as his eyes lowered a bit as a light blush spread over his cheeks.  
"Oh? What happened?" Kasen asked curiously as he watched Cyrus closely get a bit more shy.  
"Well we went on a date... like normal people do." Cyrus trailed off as his eyes flicked back to Kasen.   
"Would you... like to go on one for real?" Kasen asked carefully as he felt a flutter in his chest at the thought of it.   
"I didn't think our situation would make that sort of thing possible." Cyrus breathed as his brows drew together.  
"Perhaps once you've recovered and before we head back to my base we slip away and go on one." Kasen said seriously, thinking over options.   
"What would we do?" Cyrus asked curiously as he smiled, carefully taking Kasen's hand in his.   
"Hmmn..." Kasen hummed thoughtfully for a moment. "How about we go to a cafe and talk for a bit?" Kasen asked carefully.  
"We would need to get normal clothes to do so too. What about after the cafe we go to a club and dance together?" Cyrus asked, his eyes lighting up by the idea.   
"I don't really dance but I'd make the exception for you." Kasen said softly as he brushed some of Cyrus's hair that had shifted to rest on his cheek.   
"I better recover quicker." Cyrus said with a slight sigh as his expression shifted to a more depressed distant gaze.   
"Hey, everything is okay. We will go on a date and just...everything will work out." Kasen tried to sooth, not used to seeing Cyrus show the emotions he tried to hide.   
"I know." Cyrus said warmly as he pulled himself back and struggled to give a reassuring smile before he shifted cuddling his face into Kasen's chest. "Just hope the worst is behind us. That's all." Cyrus whispered. Kasen carefully wrapped his arms around him in an embracing hug.   
"I do too." Kasen whispered as he closed his eyes as they watered up a bit.   
As the days slipped by Cyrus began to make larger improvements in recovery than expected till he was moving around again like his usual self. Kasen stepped into the room carrying two coffees and paused for a moment when he found Cyrus leaning forward over a sink. From his view all he could tell was Cyrus was washing his face quite a few times.   
"Hey love, I got some coffee for you." Kasen said gently as he watched Cyrus jump ever so slightly.   
"Ah thanks, I'll be right there." Cyrus said quickly as he pushed the water off and pressed a towel to his face for a few minutes before slowly lowering it his dark eyes swept over the towel for a moment in thought before he folded it up and set it aside.   
"You doing alright?" Kasen asked worried as he watched Cyrus compose himself a bit.   
"Yeah, I'm alright." Cyrus chuckled as he crossed the room to Kasen, raising up on his toes to kiss him before taking the cup with his name on it smiling when he heard the ice shift in it. "Did you ask Luna for what kind I like or are you getting to know me better?" Cyrus teased playfully as he took a big sip.   
"Hopefully the second." Kasen said calmly though as he hoped his face wasn't going red because he most definitely asked Luna so he could surprise Cyrus.   
"Oh my god this is so good!" Cyrus beamed as he cuddled into Kasen's side for a bit as he took a few more drinks. "So now that I'm better... we can go on the date then yeah?" Cyrus asked carefully looking up at Kasen with his big ebony eyes.   
"You're sure you're healed enough to go shopping and spend a full day doing a lot of stuff?" Kasen questioned as he looked Cyrus over closely.   
"Yeah, really I'm pretty much back to normal. I'll be fine." Cyrus said softly hoping to reassure Kasen as he took his hand in his. Kasen sighed softly as he felt his cheeks heat up and nodded, looking away as he grew quiet for a bit.   
"Very well, we can head out then. I take it you know somewhere we can shop around here for clothes fit for a date and whatever else you have in mind for the club thing?" Kasen breathed, slowly looking back to Cyrus.   
"Mmn I do. Do you want to drive and I give directions or I could drive the motorcycle and you could hold onto me?" Cyrus asked as he smirked, giving Kasen a playful and flirty expression. Kasen shifted slightly as he tried not to show how attractive he thought Cyrus was being by clearing his throat before thinking over what Cyrus had said.   
"I'm most definitely driving. You shouldn't be doing anything dangerous this close after recovery." Kasen said seriously watching Cyrus look away a bit when he realized Kasen made a fair point.   
"Then we should probably get going so we have enough time for everything?" Cyrus questioned softly as he smiled up at Kasen taking a drink of the coffee as he took Kasen's hand in the other.  
"Sure." Kasen replied as his pale green eyes trailed over Cyrus's face for a few moments. "Are we bringing our stuff in the car just in case?" Kasen asked, his head tilting in thought slightly.   
"I never go anywhere without my sniper anymore, just a habit." Cyrus sighed softly as his eyes lowered to the floor.  
"Alright. I'll get the car loaded up then, I'm assuming you have one of those on the base here?" Kasen asked, watching Cyrus blink a few times. "Okay... then I'll drive your motorcycle then." Kasen said with a slight chuckle at how Cyrus's cheeks blushed a bit.   
"I suppose so. That means our supplies won't have a subtle place to fit... would have to leave them behind." Cyrus trailed off before Kasen gently took his face in his hands.   
"Nothing to worry about. We have each other and this is meant to be a stress free, no working sort of thing. Am I right?" Kasen soothed as he leaned in closer and closer watching the way Cyrus's breath caught slightly and licked his lips. Cyrus's ebony eyes locked on Kasen's lips and when Kasen didn't fully close the space between them he raised his eyes expectantly.   
"You're right." Cyrus breathed as Kasen nodded slightly in response, smiling slightly as his nose brushed against Cyrus's and his eyes fluttered closed and a soft exhale drifted across Kasen's lips before he kissed him gently.   
"Alright let's head out." Kasen breathed as he pulled away after a few minutes and Cyrus's eyes slowly opened to focus on Kasen with a slight disappointment before a pleased smile took its place.   
"Hope you're ready for me to point and yell all the directions to you." Cyrus giggled as he took Kasen's hand once more and bounded out of the room pulling Kasen ever so slightly along.  
"Oh? Hope you're ready for me to go 'what?' over and over again." Kasen teased, getting a soft giggle from Cyrus. Once outside Kasen settled down on Cyrus's motorcycle slowly looking it over before he plugged his phone in looking over to Cyrus to make sure he was doing it right as he clicked play on his phone and his music began to play. Cyrus smiled watching Kasen's every little moment, taking in the way his hands moved and every little expression change. Kasen's foot began to tap as one of his favorite songs came on and his head began to nod slightly to the beat as Cyrus held out the helmet for him. Kasen looked over the full black helmet with a reflective large visor that went over the whole face section of the helmet that shifted color as he rotated the helmet in his hands and watched Cyrus put on a matching one before he placed it on his head and clipped the strap.   
"Looking rather sexy." Cyrus whispered as he leaned close to Kasen slowly sitting down snuggled up behind him. Cyrus slowly slid his hands across the top of Kasen's thighs and forward to gently press his hands to the inside of Kasen's thighs. Kasen paused as his eyes lowered watching Cyrus's hands as his face went hot and turned the keys as he kicked up the stand and twisted it into gear as they sped off down the road.   
Cyrus couldn't help but grin as he leaned slightly against Kasen, impressed by how good he was at driving it sense he didn't think he had much experience.   
Cyrus tapped two fingers against Kasen's right thigh as he spoke. "Going to take a right in two intersections." He said loud enough over the wind and music getting a soft hum from Kasen and a nod. Cyrus blushed as he felt the vibration of the hum from Kasen's back and shifted a bit closer. "Didn't know you had experience with motorcycles." Cyrus said loudly to Kasen, who turned his head slightly so he could respond.   
"It's been a very long time but I used to have one." Kasen replied as he took the turn.   
"What happened to it?" Cyrus questioned getting curious now.  
"It was taken away. I would travel too far from base to often on it and some of the directors didn't like that." Kasen answered a small pause of silence passed between them as Cyrus frowned in thought.   
"Well that's fucking stupid." He sighed as he got a slight shrug from Kasen.  
"It's usually my existence is important so I have to stay close." Kasen said his tone was calm but a bit empty with the quote he had heard so often. Cyrus shifted slightly, stopping himself from saying any more on it as he tapped one finger on Kasen's left leg and Kasen effortlessly made the turn.   
"So do we want our clothes we chose to be a surprise? We pick the stores we like and then go to them and then meet back up outside or?" Cyrus rambled as he felt Kasen quietly chuckle for a moment.   
"Yeah alright. Just as long as you stay safe." Kasen answered as Cyrus rested his head to Kasen's back.   
"I will. But that goes for you too." Cyrus replied as the mall came into view. "Don't forget two looks. One for your idea for the coffee date and the other for going to the club." Cyrus said warmly and Kasen nodded, finding a parking spot and carefully stood waiting for Cyrus to get off first.   
"Ready?" Kasen asked as he tucked the helmet under one arm.  
"Ready." Cyrus chirped as he took off his helmet and held it in one hand and took Kasen's hand in the other as they headed inside. 

At first the two of them paused as they adjusted to the large crowds of normal people going about before they ventured farther in. After walking for some time and Cyrus constantly checking what Kasen seemed to be looking towards for options as they went to try and get some idea of what he would pick before they came to a stop.   
"Alright so how much time do you think you will need?" Kasen asked, looking Cyrus over seriously.  
"Um, probably not too long." Cyrus trailed off in thought a bit unsure.  
"I've watched you get dressed, you take your sweet time. So 30 minutes or an hour?" Kasen questioned folding his arms calmly with a smirk.  
"I guess an hour just in case. We meet back up here?" Cyrus questioned his head tilting to the side as Kasen nodded slightly.   
"Kiss before you head off." Kasen said softly as he leaned down close to Cyrus.   
"Of course." Cyrus breathed as he threw his arms around Kasen, being careful not to slam the helmet into him as he did so and kissed him a few times, each one a bit more affectionate. Cyrus slowly pulled back to see Kasen standing there blushing and his eyes focused again on Cyrus. "See you in a few!" Cyrus beamed as he quickly turned around and headed off into a store leaving Kasen standing there his lips still lingering the feeling of the kiss and wanting more.   
Kasen sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair before turning off towards a store that had caught his eye and slowly walked about looking at some of the pants feeling a bit out of place now that he was alone. A loud buzz from his phone made Kasen jump slightly as he fished it out of his pocket looking down at the call coming through. Director Ravencroft, calling at the worst possible moment Kasen felt. He quickly clicked away the call and shoved his phone back in his pocket as his jaw set slightly and selected a few options quickly and rushed back to the dressing room. By the time Kasen had moved on to the next store his phone rang again and this time as he checked Freya's name read on the screen. Kasen paused as his finger hovered over the hang up button before finally answering and putting it to his ear.  
"Hello?" Kasen sighed, hoping the music from the store would be quiet enough to not give away he wasn't on the base.   
"Kasen?" Freya's stern and confused tone came through. "Ravencroft has been trying to reach you, why aren't you picking up?" Freya questioned evenly and Kasen frowned, not liking her already on edge tone.  
"I was busy. And still am. I'll call back tomorrow." Kasen said coldly as he made his way to the dressing room and sat down on the chair carefully.  
"What do you mean you will call back tomorrow? What has gotten into you, acting like you're going rouge. You're going to cause lots of trouble Kasen." Freya snapped and Kasen drew a slow deep breath as she went on. "Ravencroft is calling about you going with the prisoner to the pickup location tonight." Freya said evenly.  
"Tonight won't work." Kasen replied firmly as he slowly ran his fingers up through his hair, drawing a slow deep breath.   
"I'm sorry? I don't believe there was any sort of option, Kasen. Ravencroft already extended the time for you. You think this is up to him? Cause it's not. He is getting orders from above. Why are you behaving this way now? I've known you all my life and you stuck to the rules and never talked back. What happened to my Captain?" Freya demanded her voice shaking.  
"Nothing has happened to me." Kasen sighed frustrated as his jaw set.  
"This man isn't worth it. He has killed hundreds of our people. Don't throw your life away for him Kasen. Just follow orders and move on. Why are you so hung up on him anyway?" Freya questioned her voice shaking and a few sniffles came through. Kasen frowned as his eyes swept across the floor hating every second of this conversation.   
"I've killed many of his people too." Kasen said coldly before taking a deep breath and continuing. "And he is not a bad person... I like being around him. Cyrus holds back a lot of his personality I know cause he worries but he makes me smile, I want to keep him safe and happy. I'm never going to leave him unless he wants me to." Kasen breathed, his eyes closing for a long moment when Freya paused for some time.  
"You've completely crossed the line Kasen. There is literally nothing I can do to pull you out of this mess and I hate it! I hate you so much! I care about you and you're being an idiot! They will send people after you if you don't show up, you will be in so much trouble! Please just come home." Freya demanded her voice raising to try and cover up her tears.  
"I look forward to greeting whoever shows up for me." Kasen said evenly as he hung up standing there for a moment feeling lost, his heart beat in his ears as the whole conversation sunk in. "Well fuck." Kasen sighed as he tucked his phone away and numbly wandered around the store for a bit in thought till he managed to find a second outfit. Kasen made his way out into the crowded mall, his eyes swept all over the people as he struggled with a weight he was feeling inside as he finally found a bathroom entering a stall and pulling on the clothes for the coffee date. He stood in front of the mirror, his eyes down at his feet in dress shoes then to the dark grey dress pants and black belt. His eyes shifted to the mirror to the white dress shirt as he slowly rolled up the sleeves and unbuttoned the top two and tugged at the collar slightly with a sigh before running his hands under the water and carefully splashed water onto his face standing there for a moment taking a slow deep breath before running his hands up through his hair lifting his head to meet his cold pale green eyes in the mirror. Kasen's hair damp and slicked back as he dropped his hands to support himself on the sink.   
"Cyrus deserves this." Kasen breathed to himself as his brows drew together and his eyes closed tight as Freya's words echoed through his head. "Fuck." Kasen breathed before slowly opening his eyes and grabbing the bag before heading back out into the hall and slowly walked to the meeting point. Cyrus stood leaned up against a wall, Kasen found himself doing a double take. Cyrus had his hair down, the bangs usually in this face brushed back. He was dressed in his combat boots, black skinny jeans and a soft grey baggy pullover. Underneath a black tee just barely showing around his neck. Cyrus's dark eyes slowly traveled over the crowd, his brows drawn slightly together as he stood tense and his jaw locked. Kasen paused for a moment taking him in and the way he nervously twisted a stand of hair around his finger for a bit until their eyes met. Cyrus's face went red as his hand dropped to his side and slowly lowered his gaze down Kasen as a smile spread across his mouth.   
"Well fuck I feel under dressed." Cyrus chuckled softly as Kasen came to a stop in front of him.  
"I like this sort of clothes... and wanted to look nice for you." Kasen said calmly as he affectionately brushed his hand across Cyrus's cheek as he stepped in closer, locking eyes with him.   
"Well you look amazing." Cyrus breathed, blinking up at Kasen shyly as he gently rested his hands on Kasen's hips. Cyrus couldn't help but keep looking over Kasen. He looked so formal and confident. He found himself biting at his lip lightly in thought as he suddenly rested his head against Kasen's chest, the sound of all the voices getting a bit more distant as his focus went to just Kasen. Slowly Kasen moved his arms around Cyrus hugging him close as he looked down at him a bit worried.  
"You okay love?" Kasen asked softly and Cyrus nodded as his heart skipped a beat.   
"Yeah, just wanted to be close to you for a moment." Cyrus sighed slowly, lifting his head and searching Kasen's eyes.   
"Neither one of us is good with this whole crowd thing. I can tell it's overwhelming you a bit." Kasen chuckled as he ran his fingers through Cyrus's hair carefully.  
"Am I really that easy to read?" Cyrus questioned his head tilting slightly as he stared at Kasen curiously.   
"No, usually it's very hard." Kasen whispered, pressing a kiss to Cyrus's forehead before taking his hand. "But heading to the café sounds nice." Kasen said gently guiding Cyrus outside and to the motorcycle watching as Cyrus opened a small holding area under the seat to put their bags before Kasen sat down and got it turned on.   
"You know you look sexy in a suit and then going to drive a motorcycle. Hope I don't faint." Cyrus whispered into Kasen's ear as he sat down behind him pulling on his helmet.   
"Better hold on tight then." Kasen replied smoothly as he put on his helmet and waited until he felt Cyrus's hands slowly slide around his waist and down to his thighs before speeding off down the road.   
After a few gestures from Cyrus, Kasen parked the motorcycle outside of a very vintage looking café. From the outside it was a rich wood framing to the building, large windows with cursive Russian print and tall windowed doors with golden handles. Upon entering the smell of freshly ground espresso filled the café and sweet baked goods. The polished wooden tables laid out in a spacious grid, half full with people of all sorts softly talking or working. Cyrus gently took Kasen's hand as he watched the way Kasen's pale green eyes slowly swept over every inch of the place, his face collected except for the slight blush across his cheeks.   
"What sort of coffee do you want?" Cyrus asked softly as he leaned in closer to Kasen.   
"You'll see, go pick out a table." Kasen said gently as his gaze rested on Cyrus, a smile almost instantly crossing Kasen's face.   
"Oh then let me give you my card." Cyrus said as he quickly shoved his hand in his pocket tugging out his wallet.  
"I can definitely pay for this." Kasen chuckled as he started to walk off towards the counter leaving Cyrus standing there a bit unsure for a few seconds before he slowly slipped his wallet back into his pocket and made his way over to a more empty side in the back corner taking a little corner table. He leaned back in the chair as his eyes went to Kasen in line ordering watching the way the lady taking his order giggled and tried to flirt and it took Cyrus a moment to realize his eyes had narrowed into a glare as he watched and forced himself to look away taking a few deep breaths. Cyrus softly tapped on the table to the soft music playing letting his mind wander until a glass of ice coffee was placed in front of him and Kasen sank into the chair across from him a cappuccino in his hands.   
"What's on your mind?" Kasen asked his head tilting slightly as he watched Cyrus adjust so he wasn't too tense and sulking.   
"Noticed the lady was hitting on you." Cyrus sighed with a shrug. "Nothing serious." He muttered as Cyrus quickly lifted the glass taking a sip and immediately raised his eyebrows as the sweet milky coffee tasted perfect to what he liked.   
"Then you missed when I pointed you out as my partner." Kasen said calmly his gaze serious on Cyrus and reached out gently taking Cyrus's hand from the glass and tangled his fingers with his.   
"I definitely did." Cyrus whispered as he could feel his face heat up and cleared his throat, looking to Kasen shyly. "I-" Cyrus stammered a bit unsure what to say now.  
"Are you worried I'm going to leave you?" Kasen asked softly, his face becoming extremely serious as he watched Cyrus's eyes lower to the table as he grew quiet and his hand shook slightly in Kasen's.   
"I don't want to get emotional." Cyrus sighed out after a bit before swallowing hard as he shifted slightly. Kasen waited in silence till he finally got Cyrus to raise his eyes from the table.  
"I'm never going to leave you. I promise you that you're the only one I want to be with." Kasen said evenly as he gently squeezed Cyrus's hand. "I don't mind if I need to reassure you. And I'm not going to be angry if you get jealous or a bit possessive, it can be cute as long as you don't dwell on it. I want to make you happy as much as I possibly can." Kasen said softly as he leaned forward gently pressing a kiss to the top of Cyrus's hair and another on his knuckles then fingers.   
Cyrus's breath caught as his gaze followed Kasen's every movement, and blink a few times as his eyes began to water. He felt lighter with Kasen's words but he couldn't help but also feel a bit guilty for how he had behaved.   
"Fuck-" Cyrus breathed as he looked away a blush noticeable across his nose and cheeks. "I love you." Cyrus said gently as he shifted his hand to take Kasen's tightly as he looked back to him with a genuine smile as he leaned forward slightly and moved Kasen's hand to his cheek as he leaned into it cuddling. Kasen chuckled softly as he watched Cyrus struggle not to let some tears trail down his cheeks.  
"When I profess my love to you it makes you cry?" Kasen teased slightly and smiled more as Cyrus gently tapped his foot to Kasen's leg as he gave him a 'really?' look.   
"I can't help getting emotional... I didn't think I'd ever fall in love again or... be wanted...till I met you." Cyrus breathed looking down at the table as he heard Kasen sigh softly.   
"I tried to avoid relationships and falling in love." Kasen said as he leaned back into the chair a bit.   
"What were your reasons?" Cyrus asked softly as his eyes slowly swept over Kasen and his more intense gaze as his pale green eyes showed how much he was thinking over Cyrus's question.   
"I suppose that I didn't want to lose them or die myself. And that I should put all my focus into work because that's the only thing that's a constant. I grew up as a child specially monitored and trained, and even now I'm locked down." Kasen sighed with a slight frown. "Didn't want to think about a future I'd actually wanted... seemed to painful." Kasen said softly as he took a sip of his coffee, his eyes lowering to the table.   
"So... was it easier to choose me because I'm less likely to die easily? And Kasen, are you locked down? Are you worried you can't just slip away like Vyron?" Cyrus questioned softly as he studied Kasen's face closely.   
"No, not like that. I worry constantly about you, I would take a bullet for you. I fell in love with you pretty much the moment I saw you. And then you turned out to be attractive with personality and just being you. I like that. Even if you were just an average person I'd still love you, I know that for sure." Kasen said seriously as his gaze locked with Cyrus's. "And they won't let me just vanish. There is a way they can find me... even if I don't want to be found." Kasen said bitterly as he drew a deep breath so he wouldn't get too outwardly frustrated.  
"How is that?" Cyrus asked a bit confused as he took a large drink of his ice coffee keeping his eyes on Kasen.  
"Nothing to worry about. It's difficult to explain. I'm not entirely sure myself. All I know is in the past when I went past curfew they always sent out people and they found me every time." Kasen sighed as he ran his fingers up through his hair, kicking himself as the usual strand that like to fall in front of his left eye slipped loose from the movement and had to try and slide it back again. Cyrus nodded slightly but his look of curiosity and concern didn't fade as he bit at his lip slight in thought.   
"Weird." Cyrus muttered under his breath before sighing and taking another drink.  
"But we should discuss other things... if you didn't grow up in the military what life would you have and what work would you do?" Kasen asked as he watched Cyrus's eyebrows raise as he got his full attention again.  
"I suppose I'd do art even though I'm only partially good at it. Or something on those lines, hard to say. I love the idea of travel if the world wasn't how it is... maybe even then though seeing something ancient and historical or even breathtaking countryside of different places around the world sounds incredible." Cyrus said as he began to smile the more he talked about it. "What about you Kasen?" Cyrus asked with a smirk as he leaned forward.  
"I like what you said, sounds nice. I think I'd write things, stories or blogs or anything. I find it relaxing, that and music. Maybe we would have been together and I wrote our travels and you made art of the places we've been." Kasen said softly as he watched Cyrus blink at him, taken aback, his eyes tearing up slightly.  
"I wish that was our life. Sounds perfect." Cyrus breathed as he reached out taking Kasen's hands in his feeling grounded as Kasen gently tangled fingers with his.   
"Could be I suppose. I'm not sure what will happen when we have to head back to my base. But I want a life with you after everything is settled." Kasen said softly as his brows drew together.  
"Only time will tell how it works out." Cyrus breathed as he frowned slightly in thought. "But I would truly like a life with you this one and lives to come." Cyrus said ever so gently as he rubbed this thumb against Kasen's hand. Kasen nodded as silence grew between them for a few minutes.  
"Sorry I keep pulling the conversation to more difficult subjects. How am I doing for a first date?" Kasen questioned as his brows drew together with a chuckle under his breath.  
"Oh you're fine, are you really serious about how it's going? Cause honesty we could talk about anything and I'd still be interested because I'm talking with you." Cyrus said with a warm smile. "I find the what if question really nice. No one has ever asked me that before." Cyrus said softly as he gazed at Kasen more affectionately.   
"Ah okay." Kasen breathed as a blush crossed his cheeks making Cyrus's smile grow bigger. "Though at the club tonight I'm not much of a dancer... I'll try but no promises." Kasen said shyly as he quickly took a big sip of his coffee.   
"I'm sure you're better than you think, but even if you're not I don't mind. I just want to make sure I make every second enjoyable for you." Cyrus said warmly as he watched Kasen smirk in thought.  
"I'm sure you will." Kasen said smoothly with an eyebrow raised as he watched Cyrus's expression shift to a more shocked but knowing look in his eyes.  
"Mr. Blackwood whatever could you mean by that?" Cyrus said jokingly as he gave a toothy grin.   
"I am curious what clothes you chose." Kasen said thoughtfully as his pale green eyes slowly trailed over Cyrus.   
"You will get to find out in a few hours. Once it's dark and change at the hotel you will see." Cyrus said with a wink while taking a few drinks of his ice coffee trying not to smirk too much.   
"Can't wait to see then." Kasen chuckled, finding Cyrus amusing as he got playful.   
As time slipped by Cyrus found himself completely focused on Kasen. Everything around them fading away leaving just talk of interests and casual conversation. Cyrus couldn't help but admire every little thing Kasen did, from the way he slightly gestures from the controlled why he carries himself to the way the most attractive smile formed on his lips. And most of Kasen's watchful gaze that made Cyrus feel like he understood him so deeply unlike anyone else and the way his eyes squinted when he either liked something or when he had to really think something over. The only tell when he liked something was a slight smirk. Cyrus slowly took a sip of his ice coffee and blinked startled when he realized it was empty looking down at it quickly and then up to Kasen, his eyes drifting over Kasen's shoulder to a sunset dipping down below the horizon.   
"I can't believe I'm out of coffee and the amount of time that's gone by. Feels like we just sat down." Cyrus breathed a bit taken aback as Kasen turned looking behind him and across the cafe to the windows in a faint orange glow as the final moments of dusk filled the sky.  
"You're not wrong. That means we are heading to the hotel now?" Kasen asked looking back to Cyrus, his brows raised.  
"Definitely does." Cyrus whispered as he slowly stood up and took Kasen's jaw in his hand before Kasen could get out of his chair. Walking around the small table to stand in front of Kasen slowly tilting his jaw up to him as Cyrus's ebony eyes gazed into Kasen's eyes. "You sure you're ready to have some fun?" Cyrus asked smoothly with a smirk watching the way Kasen blushed more.   
"Definitely am." Kasen breathed as Cyrus leaned in brushing his lips against Kasen's before quickly pulling back with a mischievous grin.  
"Let's get going then!" Cyrus beamed and spun around to bout out of the cafe before Kasen grabbed his arm pulling Cyrus back to him clicking his tongue as his head shook a few times.   
"Not so fast." Kasen said, holding Cyrus's hips as he tugged him to him, closing the space between them watching Cyrus's face go red. "I'm not going to wait for a kiss after you just did that." Kasen chuckled as he leaned down gently kissing Cyrus, feeling content as Cyrus raised up onto his toes a bit kissing Kasen back.   
"Understood." Cyrus breathed as their lips parted a bit out of breath from how bold Kasen was suddenly.   
"Good." Kasen said with a wink taking his hand in Cyrus's as he led the way out of the cafe and to the motorcycle starting it up. "Off to the hotel. Is it close?" Kasen asked as he started it up and pulled on his helmet.  
"Yeah just a bit further into town, more downtown area." Cyrus said as he sat down behind Kasen, pulling on his helmet and gently leaning against Kasen's back slightly as Kasen took off and followed Cyrus's directions perfectly to a large hotel, connected right to a multilevel club. Music already softly poured out of the doors down the street as people entered and left.   
"This will be interesting." Kasen breathed as he parked and helped collect the bags, following Cyrus's lead as he led him inside checking them in and heading up many floors to their assigned room. Once inside the hotel room Kasen paused looking around. It was much more fancy than he had been expecting. Everything modern with a crystal aesthetic to it and color scheme in black, grey, soft earthy green and golden accents.   
"This couldn't have been cheap." Kasen breathed as he slowly placed their bags on the bed, eyeing all the fancy pillows on it.  
"Wanted something nice we would always remember." Cyrus said softly as he watched Kasen take it all in.   
"I most definitely won't forget a single thing that has happened today with you." Kasen said gently as his gaze rested on Cyrus before walking over to him pulling him gently into a hug.   
"I'm happy to be here with you. Every moment I'm with you... makes me feel alive. I didn't know how much I was missing or even wanting till I met you. You have changed my life Cyrus. And it will always be for the better." Kasen breathed as he nestled his face into Cyrus's soft black hair. Cyrus hugged Kasen tightly as he pressed his face into Kasen's chest as he sniffled slightly.   
"Fuck you're going to make me cry with all your loving words." Cyrus whispered as his hands rubbed Kasen's back soothingly. "You have saved me in so many ways. I wouldn't be alive today if it wasn't for you. I love you more than I can express." Cyrus said softly into Kasen's chest as Kasen slowly lowered them onto the floor, gently pulling Cyrus onto his lap as he kept him embraced.   
"I love you too Cyrus." Kasen whispered softly as he pressed a few kisses on top of Cyrus's head. "I know we should be getting ready... I just wanted to make sure you knew how I truly feel." Kasen said softly as he slowly loosened the hug.  
"Thank you for sharing your feelings with me. There isn't any rush though, you're what's important to me." Cyrus said gently as he shifted so he could look into Kasen's eyes before gently caressing his cheek. "We could just sit here for a whole day and I wouldn't mind. Being close to you like this is being home and safe and I've never felt so content then moments I spend with you." Cyrus beamed as he pressed a gentle kiss against Kasen's lips smiling as Kasen returned it and deepened it more. After some time Cyrus finally crawled off of Kasen picking up his bag of clothes and rushed off into the bathroom giving Kasen a wink before shutting the door behind him. With a deep sigh Kasen got to his feet and began to change himself for the next part of the night. Kasen pulled on dark grey skinny jeans with rips all down the front of the legs that tucked into black combat boots. He wore a tight black tee that made his muscles stand out. Kasen paused looking himself over in the mirror a bit unsure. He knew for a fact Cyrus probably went all out and that his was rather simple, perhaps too simple. Kasen sighed as he sank down to sit on the bed growing more curious about what was taking Cyrus so long until the door swung open and Kasen sat there in stunned silence, a good sort of stunned silence. Cyrus slowly walked towards him in very tight shiny leather black pants, with his black combat boots on and a soft cream shirt with plants as if out of an old text book print on the front, a bit short but not enough to be considered a crop top. His hair half pulled back in a little messy bun and sharp black winged eyeliner across his eyes.   
"Oh wow." Kasen breathed as his eyes slowly trailed over Cyrus. "I think I'm underdressed." Kasen breathed.  
"How the tables have turned then." Cyrus chuckled as he stood before Kasen offering his hands. "Ready to go party love?" Cyrus asked smoothly as Kasen took his hands right away.   
"Of course, as long as it's you by my side." Kasen said gently as he got to his feet tucking the room key card into his pocket before Cyrus could drag him out of the room any faster and across the Skywalk and into the club. 

Flashing neon lights in the darkness lit up the dance floor packed with people dancing to the live music that downed out talk unless yelling. Cigarette smoke and fog machines gave the place a dream like haze to it as Cyrus pointed towards the bar across the way.   
"Want to get some drinks?" Cyrus asked loud enough for Kasen to hear.  
"Sure." Kasen nodded back to Cyrus as he tightly held his hand worried about getting parted as Cyrus carefully weaved them through the crowd and to the bar looking over the menu a bit unsure as the bartender made her way over to them.   
"Anything I can get you two?" The lady asked as she hovered her hand over a bottle.  
"Whiskey." Kasen said calmly the lack of hesitation made him pause for a moment before he looked to Cyrus with a gentle smile. "What are you having?" Kasen asked, placing his hand on the small of Cyrus's back.   
"Something sweet. Energy drink and vodka to start." Cyrus said as he passed the money across the counter for the two of them.   
"I'm not surprised." Kasen chuckled as soon enough their drinks were passed to them and Kasen shot his back in a few gulps. Cyrus watched how easily Kasen was able to drink it and paused a bit unsure if it was a good idea.  
"Don't worry I'll be fine. A few won't hurt me." Kasen said, noticing Cyrus's expression.   
"Alright, let me know if you want to leave at any time I don't mind." Cyrus said with a reassuring smile before chugging his drink so Kasen wouldn't need to wait taking a mental note to do shots so he wouldn't take too long when they came back next time. Kasen nodded as he watched Cyrus down the drink and then nodded slightly to the dance floor.  
"Let's go be crazy." Kasen said as Cyrus hugged his arm to his chest with a large grin before they lost themselves in the crowd on the dance floor. Kasen stumble around a bit more focused on the way Cyrus swayed and danced to the music with such ease and how he playfully hooked his fingers on Kasen's pants closing the space between them as he mouthed to the song while slowly looking up Kasen to meet his eyes with a smirk. Once the songs had changed a few times Kasen leaned in to Cyrus kissing his neck and then spoke into his ear so he wouldn't need to yell too loud.   
"Do you want another drink?" Kasen asked carefully.  
"Mmn. Sure!" Cyrus chirped as they bounded back to the bar this time Cyrus got a shot and Kasen paused as he did the same and then gestured for 3 more.   
"I have some I want to see if you like or not." Kasen said with a smirk making Cyrus curious what exactly he had ordered the music too loud to hear from where he had been standing. Cyrus shuffled right up to Kasen's side as the bartender passed the shots lining them up for them. One was a deep red, a different one blue and the last one a pale green. Cyrus instantly picked one up after the other shooting them back and Kasen matched his pace watching as Cyrus looked to him impressed.   
"Whatever those where they were good!" Cyrus beamed over the music and Kasen nodded knowingly.   
"Here have two drinks on the house, someone paid for everyone at the bar." The bartender said as she walked back pushing two glasses full of some sort of mixed drink. Kasen paused for a moment before nodding and Cyrus glanced down the way at the guy who definitely paid, drunk and wearing lots of jewelry, two women handing off his arms.   
"Ah, well okay then." He said with a shrug as he picked it up and began to chug it down, cringing slightly at how intense the alcohol taste was. Kasen began drinking it down too, his nose wrinkling slightly.   
"That's a lot of vodka." He said shaking his head slightly before finishing it off.  
"Yeah, though the taste faded off at the end for me to be more sweet." Cyrus said loudly with a shrug and Kasen tilted his head slightly studying Cyrus closely in the flashing lights. He wanted to preserve the halo of lights framing Cyrus's face and smile in his mind for as long as he could and leaned in kissing Cyrus deeply, surprised by how sloppy it was as the edges of his vision seemed slowed.   
"Can I have another of that green shot?" Cyrus asked Kasen, blinking up at him with a smile.   
"Alright." Kasen answered as he leaned towards the bartender telling her a few things and Cyrus leaned in trying to hear what all Kasen was saying over the loud music.   
"You surprised me again with something?" Cyrus asked a slight slur becoming noticeable.   
"Maybe." Kasen said calmly as the lady passed them both two shots. The first the light green one Cyrus had asked for and the second a warm caramel color. Cyrus shot them back excited and after he took the second stood there for a moment savoring it.  
"Literally the best shot I think I've ever tasted!" Cyrus beamed and Kasen smiled as he gently tucked a strand of Cyrus's hair behind his ear and rested his hand against Cyrus's neck.  
"I'm happy you like it. This sort of thing I know more about then fancy coffee, I guess that's good and bad." Kasen said with a shrug.  
"Thank you for sharing the good ones with me." Cyrus said warmly his speech beginning to carry more of his russian accent the more the alcohol began to hit him. Soon Cyrus found him and Kasen out on the dance floor. The music sounded more distant and smooth than before as he pressed up to Kasen, knowing his movements felt delayed than they really were as he swayed and shifted to the rhythm. Kasen pulled Cyrus as close as possible as he slowly trailed his hands up Cyrus's sides leaning down to kiss up his neck slowly till he reached his ear hearing so soft gasp as he nipped at it.   
"You want to go back to the room?" Cyrus slurred out as he turned around to face Kasen resting his hands on his chest and to stabilize himself a bit.   
"If you're ready to." Kasen breathed his words slurring together a bit as he pressed his sweaty forehead to Cyrus's.   
"Yeah." Cyrus said a bit softer that Kasen had to watch his lips to know what he was saying and gently began leading the way off the dance floor. Cyrus stumbled as a lady slammed into him as his eyes widened as his hand slipped from Kasen's, the crowd swarming around Cyrus as the song changed and he felt his throat tighten and his lungs ache like he couldn't breathe, panic overwhelming his thoughts for a moment before he could see Kasen pushing his way through the crowd locking eyes with Cyrus as a lady crossed between them hooking her arms around Kasen as she turned trying to grind. Cyrus felt his eyes narrow as he worked his way to them and Kasen who was trying to carefully push her away before Cyrus wedged himself between her and Kasen.   
"He's mine." Cyrus said loudly in Russian as he hooked his arm around Kasen's torso and Kasen looked down at Cyrus relief across his face before his hand grabbed Cyrus's ass.  
"Definitely am. Come on love." Kasen slurred as they finally pushed out of the dance floor and through the club to the Skywalk. 

The soft and faint music of the club behind them left them walking a bit in silence down the hall.  
"I was worried i wouldn't be able to find you." Kasen said very softly, relieved he didn't have to strain his voice anymore.  
"I was too... It took me back to bad memories. But that lady snapped me back to the present." Cyrus said with a frown as Kasen fished out the key card, opening the door to their room for Cyrus and locking it behind them.   
"I'm sorry." Kasen said worried as he pulled Cyrus into his arms.  
"I'll be fine." Cyrus said as he gazed up into Kasen's eyes lovingly. "Though I have a request." Cyrus breathed watching Kasen's eyebrows drawn together wondering what Cyrus would ask.  
"I'll do whatever you ask of me." Kasen said gently as he cupped Cyrus's face in his hands.   
"Love me like this is our last day alive together." Cyrus whispered his eyes searching Kasen's. "How ever you want to show that to me I'd want you to." Cyrus breathed as he watched Kasen's face become red as thoughts floated around his head of what Cyrus said.   
"If I do anything you don't like tell me, I’ll be gentle tonight." Kasen said softly as his lips met Cyrus's, the kiss becoming sloppy and passionate as Kasen slowly removed layer by layer of Cyrus's clothes. Chuckling as Cyrus more yanked and was less graceful getting Kasen's off and tossing them to the floor. Cyrus reached up taking Kasen's face in his hands as he sighed softly between kisses as Kasen slowly trailed his hands over Cyrus's sides and scratched up his back before slowly pushing Cyrus down onto the bed look down at the way he gazed up at him, his eyes half closed and his lips parted with heavier breaths. Kasen leaned down kissing down Cyrus's neck and down his collarbone as he began to suck and leave marks as he went, trailing his hands slowly up and down Cyrus's thighs as he slowly moved them more inward with every slow pass. Kasen paused as Cyrus shifted up onto his elbows slightly.  
"Want me to do anything for you?" Cyrus breathed out as Kasen shook his head with a caring smile, running his fingers up through his hair pushing his bangs back out of his eyes.  
"I want to treat you, don't worry about me." Kasen said softly as he lifted Cyrus's thighs getting a soft started squeak from Cyrus as his elbows slipped out and he plopped back onto his back as Kasen slowly kissed up the inside of Cyrus's thighs feeling him shift as it got more sensitive letting out breathy moans till Kasen propped one of Cyrus's thighs on his shoulder and attacked the sensitive spot where Cyrus's thigh met the inside of his hip. Cyrus bit his lip hard, his brows drawing together as he tried to hold back noises, Kasen leaned forward enough to slide two fingers into Cyrus's mouth toying with his tongue and forcing him to moan without holding back before taking his slick fingers and began sliding them ever so slowly and gently in a rhythmic way into Cyrus. Soon Kasen began carefully stretching him as he began to plunge his fingers in deeper and faster getting a breathy moan from Cyrus that made Kasen ache for more. By the time Kasen had decided Cyrus was loosened enough for him to not hurt him Kasen slowly shifted into a better position over him before slowly working himself inside letting out a low moan as he felt Cyrus tighten around him in the most pleasurable way before Kasen began to thrust slow and gentle at first until he gripping the top of the bed as he went faster and harder his moans blending with Cyrus's as he shifted slightly pressing in deeper and blushed as Cyrus's back arched slightly as a moan caught in his throat as Kasen hit a much more pleasure inducing spot deep inside that made his toes curl and his fingers scratch down Kasen's back as he held on tighter.  
"K-kasen" Cyrus moaned out as his breathing picked up as his head tilted back gasping between moans.  
"Mmn?" Kasen hummed as he slowed his pace slightly but made sure to keep hitting the spot he knew was filling Cyrus with building ecstasy.   
"I love you-" Cyrus whispered out between moans and Kasen smiled as he took Cyrus's hair in his hand gently pulling as he picked back up his pace feeling himself nearing his limit and Cyrus's pleasured moans weren't helping to prolong it.   
"I love you Cyrus." Kasen whispered into his ear as he sucked gently at his earlobe as he could feel Cyrus's body tighten and reach his climax as Kasen shifted kissing Cyrus between their moans as Kasen allowed himself to reach his limit his hips shuttering as he reflexively thrust into Cyrus before slowly catching his breath and pulling out and laying down next to him panting and sweaty before carefully tucking Cyrus and him under the messed up blankets. Cyrus slowly turned to Kasen cuddling in exhausted ecstasy once under the covers together.   
"I love you." Cyrus breathed as he nestled his head against Kasen's chest.   
"I love you too." Kasen mumbled barely awake but just enough to give one last gentle kiss. Cyrus smiled as he let out a content hum as he shifted back to being the little spoon and cuddled Kasen's arm that held him before they both drifted into deep sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took a few months off to do some research for upcoming chapter releases to make sure it is all correct for what I need. Life got a bit crazy but getting back on track now. Thank you to everyone for reading my story and support, hope you continue to check in and enjoy.


	20. Chapter Twenty

Kasen slowly inhaled as he slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times sleepily. His head aching mildly as he took a moment to recognize the hotel room. Kasen’s pale green eyes shifted to fall on Cyrus cuddled up against him, his black hair a mess across his face. Gently Kasen began to brush it back taking in his relaxed expression as Cyrus’s lips parted slightly letting out a soft sigh. As his gaze traveled down Cyrus’s exposed chest and side to his hips with the sheet barely across them and his legs sticking out, tangled with one of Kasen’s. Kasen found himself blushing as the night before replayed in his mind. Perfect was the first word that came to mind to describe it to himself. Kasen let out a pleased hum as he slowly trailed his hand down Cyrus’s chest admiring every little thing about him till he noticed Cyrus’s feet stir a few times, one of his subtle tells he was starting to wake. Kasen gently lifted Cyrus’s chin and used his thumb to wipe away a bit of drool at the edge of his mouth with a slight smirk finding it cute before pressing multiple gentle kisses to Cyrus’s lips, his heart skipping a beat as he felt Cyrus’s lips press back into the kiss as he fully woke up. Cyrus giggled as their lips parted for a moment before he rolled on top of Kasen running his fingers roughly through his hair and wrapped a finger around one of Kasen’s soft curls in his hair giving a slight tug as he watched Kasen’s eyes close and a sigh slip from his mouth before Cyrus lead down kissing him deeply. Kasen’s hands slowly slid up Cyrus’s back and up into his messy hair getting tangled and accidentally yanked when he tried to free one of his hands, his face going red as he got a soft moan in response from Cyrus.   
“Sorry if that hurt?” Kasen breathed a bit unsure as he slowly opened his eyes taking in Cyrus’s sleepy expression, his eyes barely open and a smirk forming across his mouth.   
“You would know if it hurt.” Cyrus breathed as the smirk grew into a smile as Kasen ran his free hand down Cyrus’s back grabbing his ass as he raised his eyebrows.   
“Perhaps next time we should have a bit more fun then.” Kasen said playfully watching the way Cyrus’s cheeks reddened.   
“I take it then there isn’t time this morning?” Cyrus whispered as he studded Kasen’s face closely and the way his eyes lowered off to the side thinking.  
“I’m sorry, I think we should get showered and ready.” Kasen said his tone coming across a bit more troubled than he meant to, getting a long pause from Cyrus as Kasen slowly looked back to find a concerned expression on his face. “It’s not you, I honestly want to. I just think we could be falling onto borrowed time.” Kasen breathed.  
“What do you mean?” Cyrus asked carefully watching the way Kasen swallowed as his eyes locked with Cyrus’s.   
“I’m probably just getting paranoid about the Director. It’s nothing really, I don’t want to ruin our morning...” Kasen trailed off as he watched Cyrus carefully slip off of him and get to his feet.  
“You’re not ruining the morning. Let's take a shower together.” Cyrus said gently with a warm smile watching as Kasen got to his feet stretching as he followed Cyrus into the bathroom.   
“Your music or mine?” Kasen asked as he placed his phone on the counter watching Cyrus get the water turned on poking at it waiting for it to get hot.   
“Probably yours mine can... be a little less uplifting.” Cyrus sighed as he looked over his shoulder to Kasen, a hard to read expression on his face as he closed the door locking it and pressed play watching Cyrus’s eyes shift to the phone as he recognized the music instantly as one off of his playlist.   
“I like your music, it's like your own diary in songs. Maybe I wanna sing with you.” Kasen said gently as he slowed his steps to match with the more somber toned music and gently pulled Cyrus into his arms. “You never need to worry about hiding away your true feelings and thoughts from me.” He said seriously and nudged Cyrus’s nose with his when Cyrus wouldn’t meet his eyes at first.   
“I know.” Cyrus breathed softly as his ebony eyes raised to meet Kasen’s gentle gaze.   
“Now let's get you cleaned up.” Kasen said as he led Cyrus into the shower and gasped slightly at how hot the water was before switching places with Cyrus watching how he relaxed under the heat, his eyes closing. “I bet you would love going to a hot spring.” Kasen said thoughtfully as he took some shampoo in his hands and guided Cyrus forward to him as he began to work his fingers through Cyrus’s hair, smiling as Cyrus leaned back into him.  
“That does sound nice.” Cyrus sighed as he reached his hands back resting them on Kasen’s hips. “You don’t need to wash my hair for me, probably hard with how thick it is.” Cyrus sighed as Kasen massaged Cyrus’s head more hearing a deep sigh come from Cyrus.   
“I know you are loving this, so just relax.” Kasen said warmly, feeling Cyrus nod slightly.   
“Not wrong.” Cyrus breathed as he let Kasen guide him, washing out the shampoo and then onto the conditioner, then the body wash. “Would you like me to do the same to you?” Cyrus asked once Kasen had finished blinking up at him. Kasen smiled thoughtfully as he leaned down slightly to kiss Cyrus a few times not wanting to stop, just wanting to spend the rest of the day kissing Cyrus’s soft lips.   
“I got it, you should go ahead and get your uniform on. I’ll only be a few more seconds.” Kasen said gently as Cyrus nodded slightly, climbing out of the shower and wrapped himself up in a towel glancing over at Kasen as he stood under the water quickly washing his hair with his eyes closed as the water dripped off his eyelashes. Cyrus bit at his lip as his eyes slowly trailed over Kasen for just a little bit longer before he dried off, tossing the towel aside once he pulled his hair up into a bun and walked out into the hotel room and began pulling on his black military uniform laying down on the bed with a sigh once his boots were on waiting for Kasen, his eyes slowly closing as the sound of his music playing drifted around him.   
Cyrus jolted as he felt the bed shift as Kasen sat down next to him, his eyes blinking open not even remembering dozing off.   
“How are you feeling?” Kasen asked a bit worried as Cyrus took in he was already dressed in a matching uniform to Cyrus’s and he slowly sat up the room spinning for a moment as he looked around at everything already packed up.  
“Was I asleep for a while?” Cyrus looked confused looking at Kasen as Kasen’s gaze became more serious.   
“Just roughly 15 minutes. Are you avoiding my question?” Kasen asked as an eyebrow raised.   
“I think I’m fine.” Cyrus replied softly as he sighed deeply, reaching out and pulling Kasen down onto the bed with him turning so he could lay cuddling his face right up against Kasen’s face. Kasen let out a soft hum as he rested his head against Cyrus’s for a bit before turning his head so he could kiss Cyrus’s forehead and then his nose before shifting pressing an upside down kiss to Cyrus’s lips. Cyrus chuckled before returning the kiss not used to this angle, finding himself a bit unsure on how to move his lips as he continued to kiss Kasen. Suddenly Kasen pulled away crawling over Cyrus as he took his wrists pinning him down as he deeply kissed Cyrus, biting at his lip before kissing down Cyrus’s neck and began to bite at a spot and sucking hoping to leave behind a decent mark. Cyrus’s face went red as he let Kasen continue closing his eyes as he let out soft sighs and soon he found himself moaning as Kasen’s leg pressed up between his and let go of one of Cyrus’s wrist so he could pull Cyrus’s hips grinding him against his leg and it didn’t take much for Cyrus to move to match what Kasen wanted.   
“I thought we weren’t going to do this...” Cyrus moaned out against Kasen’s lips as he found his free hand grabbing Kasen’s shirt holding him close, his body aching for more.   
“I can stop if you want me to.” Kasen mumbled against Cyrus’s lips as he slid his tongue into Cyrus’s mouth toying his tongue around Cyrus’s.   
“Don’t stop.” Cyrus managed to breathe out when the kiss parted blinking up at Kasen in a daze finding the way Kasen was looking down at him with a more intense knowing look as if he was always in control and already knew every thought that passed through Cyrus’s mind. Cyrus decided this had to be the most sexy expression Kasen has ever made as his breath caught as Kasen waited to return the kiss but kept grinding his leg against Cyrus, getting a soft whimper in response as Cyrus shifted under him wanting to be as close to Kasen as physically possible. Kasen smirked as he finally kissed Cyrus letting go of his other wrist as he grabbed at Cyrus’s hair remembering it was in a bun as all he got was Cyrus’s bangs laced through his fingers. The sound of the door slamming open pulled Cyrus from the growing pleasure he was feeling as his hand that had been sliding up under Kasen’s shirt paused as he tilted his head so he could get a better view of the door as Kasen froze over Cyrus, his hair had fallen down over his pale green eyes but he could still make out as clear as day Freya as she entered the room, followed by a group of ten armed men and last to enter the room was Director Ravencroft who slowly looked over the two of them tangled on the bed and the flushed expressions.   
Cyrus felt all the color drain from his face as his eyes shifted from Freya to the guns trained on them and then to the Director and Cyrus quickly looked away and up to Kasen who was still frozen over him. Kasen’s gaze had shifted and Cyrus felt his breath caught as Kasen was glaring them down his hand had shifted to protectively grab hold of Cyrus’s shirt as he shifted slowly sliding his leg out from between Cyrus’s.   
“Nice and slow, any sudden movements and we will shoot.” One of the armed men said sternly and Kasen’s eyes immediately fell on the man, his head tilting slightly.   
“Few bullets would just slow me down.” Kasen growled and Freya held up her hand as she stepped forward, her face serious as she looked over Kasen at a loss.   
“Kasen, I gave you a choice to follow orders. Don’t treat us like we are your enemy. What has gotten into you? Cyrus has poisoned you against us.” Freya insisted, getting more visibly upset.  
“Cyrus has nothing to do with how I behave.” Kasen growled as he finally took his eyes off of Freya looking down at Cyrus’s panicked eyes that began to calm once their eyes met.   
“When I heard you were too busy the last thing I was expecting was to find you both in a hotel, clearly getting very well acquainted.” The Director said with a grim expression as a woman pushed passed the Director and entered the room and Cyrus watched as Kasen’s whole body went tense. The woman had piercing blue eyes and long straight black hair cut in a V shape as the front ends brushed her collarbones as she walked. She had on formal black dress pants and a loose white shirt tucked into the pants.   
“Looks like your top soldier has gone rouge Director.” The woman said coldly as her eyes swept over Kasen and then to Cyrus, her face serious as her eyes narrowed. “He will need to be re-educated.” She said sharply as her gaze locked with Kasen’s as his expression sifted as what she meant settled in. Cyrus heard Kasen’s breathing quicken as she said those words and looked up at Kasen a bit unsure, his heart dropping when he saw fear in Kasen’s eyes for a moment before his face became composed. Freya pressed her lips together as she lowered her eyes to the floor as the room held silence for a moment.   
“I don’t believe it would be necessary.” The Director said as he looked to the woman who spun to face him with a scowl.   
“I know you favorite him, but don’t lie to yourself about how serious this is. Kasen is a tool and one that needs to be in check.” She said coldly as she motioned to the guards. “Cuff them. We are heading out.” Before leaving the room. The soldiers started to approach and Kasen bristled as he reflexively stood and yanked Cyrus behind him protectively standing in the way, sizing up the soldiers. Cyrus stumbled as Kasen pulled him behind, the movement of standing causing his head to spin and gripped onto the back of Kasen’s shirt to stabilize himself.  
“Hands where I can see them!” One of the guards yelled as he aimed the gun at Cyrus and Kasen stepped slightly to the left blocking his view.   
“We are unarmed.” Kasen hissed as his hands tightened into fists.   
“Don’t make this harder than it needs to be. For your sake.” Freya pleaded searching Kasen’s face as he looked at her, his eyes narrowing. Kasen drew a slow deep breath, everything in him was screaming to have Cyrus make a run for it but the only option was out the window and that was too far of a drop.   
“Yeah? Well fuck this!” Kasen yelled at Freya as he threw his hands up pissed right as the sound of a gun fired.   
Cyrus felt the impact of the bullet through Kasen’s back as time felt like it slowed. His lips parting in shock before he felt something inside snap. Cyrus ducked under Kasen’s arm as he ran at the man that had fired. He knew by the way their heads slowly began to move to look at him he was moving faster than a normal person and that his ability was active. Cyrus slammed into the man and had him on the floor breaking the man's hold on the gun and pressed it to his head, his finger tightening on the trigger.   
“Wait! Don’t kill him!” Kasen gasped his hand to stomach where red seeped through his fingers. Cyrus hesitated as he heard Kasen’s voice, unsure if Kasen was talking to him or the other men before he took in the look of horror of the man he was on top of and slowly tossed the gun aside, the sound of his heartbeat filling his ears as he slowly stood a small stream of blood running down out of his nose as he took a few steps backwards towards Kasen as Cyrus took in the armed men all frozen guns on Cyrus. The Director had his hand raised in hold as he approached. Grabbing two pairs of handcuffs from one of the men as he came to stand in front of Cyrus.   
“If you want Kasen to live give me your hands.” The Director said, evenly watching Cyrus meet his gaze, his lips pressing into a thin line.   
“Like you have control over that.” Cyrus breathed as he slowly held out his hands and the Director frowned cuffing Cyrus and shoved him towards the men as two took either arm and began to drag him out of the room. Cyrus had to force himself not to fight to stay in the room with Kasen as a sack was pulled down over his head and pulled tight.   
“Don’t want your people alerted too quickly by seeing you leave here.” The lady’s voice said somewhere near Cyrus as he stumbled being pulled down the hall. 

The Director stood before Kasen watching the wild look in his eyes as they trailed after Cyrus before snapping back to meet Ravencroft’s.   
“If Cyrus dies...I’ll finish what he started.” Kasen breathed out through clenched teeth and he watched as the Director slowly lowered his gaze to the floor frowning.  
“I don’t doubt it. But you are smarter than this. If you even want to survive re-education you will need to learn how to play the perfect soldier again Kasen.” The Director whispered as he held out the cuffs before looking over Kasen who now stood there silently the rage fading away and his posture slumped slightly.   
“They are taking him back separately...aren't they.” Kasen breathed and the Director nodded slightly.   
“Would you believe me if I told you I will keep an eye on Cyrus for you?” The Director whispered and Kasen’s breath paused as he raised his eyes searching the man he had thought of as his father figure.   
“I don’t know if I want to. Feels more like you want to try and read what everyone thinks is wrong with me and get into my head.” Kasen said bitterly as the Director shook his head, his expression showing sorrow.   
“I don’t want to lose you. I have tried to raise you as best as I could as if you were my own son.” The Director said softly as he slowly cuffed Kasen. “This is the hardest thing I’ve had to do in my life.” The Director breathed his expression troubled as he took Kasen’s arm.   
“If you’re serious about this path you have chosen...don’t lose yourself there.” Ravencroft said softly before nodding to Freya and leading them out into the hall, Kasen tensed as a bag was pulled over his head by one one the men and felt the Director let go as someone shoved him along down the hall till Kasen couldn’t figure out which way was which and soon found himself surrounded by the sound of a helicopter taking off and no voices of those he knew. 

After what felt like forever to Kasen as he kept his eyes closed sitting still the sound of the helicopter landing and powering down pulled him back to the present as he was pulled to his feet and shoved along till the bag was pulled off his head and he was looking over a fenced in base with thick barbed wire across the top of the fences and tall guard towers at each end keeping close watch of the little base. A large central building that looked exactly like a prison was where the sleeping barracks an dining hall was and Kasen knew it would be just as heavily guarded because this place was pretty much a prison. Off to the right was a large obstacle course and to the left was a smaller building for instructors. And he stood on a track field for running and drills. Kasen frowned as the helicopter lifted up and the sound of a loud horn over the intercoms went off as the doors opened to the staff building and a large muscular man made his way over to him. Dressed in drill sergeant clothes Kasen immediately recognized and corrected his posture and stepped into salute as the man came to stop before him. He stood at 6’5'' and Kasen wasn’t used to being short as his eyes lifted slightly to look the man over, a strong jawline and buzzed hair. The man glared as Kasen’s eyes met his intense gaze and Kasen gritted his teeth remembering that he was no longer ranked high enough to behave how he was.   
“Kasen Blackwood, wasn’t expecting you to be one of the new delinquents. I was given very specific orders on how I am to oversee your time here. Unfortunately your document is heavily classified... I’d love to know how the most awarded captain in our army ended up here. A place where the worst and hard to break get sent to.” The man said seriously his voice had a natural authoritative loudness to it. Kasen frowned as he kept his gaze slightly lowered and ahead staring into the man’s chest as he stayed quiet hoping that wasn’t a statement he was hoping for an answer on. “No hard feelings when you get the shit beat out of you, just following orders.” The man said seriously as he nodded to the building. “Inside you will be taken to where your bed is, there is a uniform laid out. You will put it on and turn in your clothes you have on to the officer tasked with looking over you while inside the barrack. You will then come join the rest of the group out on the obstacle course, of course escorted by your officer.” The man said sternly and Kasen nodded ever so slightly.   
“Yes Sir.” Kasen said evenly as the man turned heading towards the Central building and once inside Kasen felt his heart drop as they passed through four sets of locked doors with guards that had to open the doors from inside a small booth with a button so they could pass through and fully enter the building.   
“When you see me for morning drills I expect you to greet me.” The man said and Kasen nodded knowing exactly who this man was, he had heard many things over the years about Sergeant Williams.   
“Yes Sir.” Kasen said evenly as they turned down a hall and Sergeant Williams scanned a badge unlocking the doors to a room filled with bunks. Half way down Kasen found a lower bunk with a set of uniforms folded on the neat tucked in blankets and Kasen stood at the end of the bed as he looked it over and the foot locker at the end.   
“Get dressed now. Your officer will come and get you.” Sergeant Williams ordered as he paused watching Kasen grit his teeth as he slowly began to pull off his jacket and then shirt dropping them to the side on the bed. “Quite the scratches down your back Captain.” Sergeant Williams said thoughtfully before turning and heading out, the doors shutting behind him and the sound of the automatic locks click. Kasen stood there for a moment as he felt himself drop to his knees, his hand clutching over his face as his breathing picked up feeling as though his lungs were being squeezed of all their air as he fumbled grabbing the coat he had on with Cyrus’s military symbol on it pressing it in his face. Soon the fabric was hot with tears as Kasen silently sat there his shoulders shaking.   
“What am I doing?” Kasen breathed to himself his voice gravely from holding back sobs. He slowly lowered the jacket running his hand over the patch as he drew slow shaky breaths. “If I don’t get out of here... how am I to save Cyrus?” Kasen whispered his brows drawing together. The sound of the door unlocking lurched Kasen to his feet as he quickly wiped at his eyes tearing off the patch and then yanking off the rest of his clothes and boots pulling on the plane uniform. A green shirt that fit a bit snug that he was used to and a tan pair of camo military pants and shoved the patch into the pocket before sitting down on the bed shoving his feet into the tan combat boots as the sound of foot fall echoed down the walk way towards Kasen.   
“Kasen Blackwood?” A man spoke, his voice softer than what Kasen was expecting as he glanced at the man who stopped to stand at the end of his bed. The man had a slightly grown out high and tight haircut, his hair a reddish brown with slight waves to it. His eyes are a light caramel color and he smiled a warm welcoming toothy smile as he nodded at Kasen. He stood about 5’8” and was dressed in similar clothes to what Kasen was dressing in now.   
“Yes.” Kasen sighed as he finished tying his shoes slowly standing and began folding up the black clothes in a neat stack.  
“My name is Officer Murdock. I’ll be looking after you during your time here. Wherever you go, I go. And you are to report to me before doing anything without orders.” Murdock said calmly as his eyes swept over Kasen. “Follow my command and things will go smoothly.” Murdock added as Kasen finished holding out the stack of clothes to Murdock who carefully took it.   
“Understood.” Kasen said evenly, sighing slightly at the end as he met Murdock’s gaze for a moment, sizing him up as Kasen tucked his thumbs into the pockets of his pants. Murdock frowned slightly as he tucked the clothes under his arm and nodded towards the door.   
“I am taking you out to the course. You will be pushed hardest now that you are the newest one here. Do try and keep a level head.” Murdock said seriously as he began to walk towards the door and Kasen fell into place behind him.  
“What all am I to expect for a daily routine here?” Kasen asked as Murdock paused at the door, turning to meet Kasen’s eyes.   
“You speak so casually to me, do you feel like I’m more of a friend?” Murdock questioned watching the way Kasen tensed, falling silent. Murdock sighed, shaking his head as he glanced through the door window taking note of the guards stationed with their backs to them at the moment. “Morning drills, course, training, breakfast, more drills, training, running, lunch, course, work outs, training, mental health session, dinner, more running and orders, then bed.” Murdock said vaguely, shrugging slightly.   
“Wait what?” Kasen said, his gaze getting intense. “Mental health session? What the fuck is that exactly?” Kasen demanded getting a very serious stare from Murdock.   
“I’m going to give you a few seconds to drop and give me 50.” Murdock ordered watching Kasen’s brows draw together as his jaw sat slightly before taking a few steps back and knelt onto the floor and began to do push ups glaring down at the tile. “You need to remember here you are below me. You will speak respectfully and I am allowing you to speak at the moment freely, don’t abuse that or you will have to request permission.” Murdock evenly said watching Kasen closely, not surprised he did pushups perfectly and with ease. “Do you understand?” Murdock asked calmly as he moved to Kasen’s side placing his foot on Kasen’s back pushing down to make it more difficult to do the pushups.  
“Yes Sir.” Kasen hissed out as he gritted his teeth harder. Murdock nodded once Kasen reached 50 taking a few steps back as he watched Kasen get to his feet.   
“You are to be evaluated and treated accordingly and answer all the questions asked by the doctor.” Murdock said as he circled back around to the door.   
“I don’t need to be evaluated. And even if they think I’m not right in the head it’s not like they can just discharge me from the army.” Kasen said seriously as he shifted his weight in thought.   
“Better hope that you tell the truth and not get more of an intensive treatment. From my understanding someone in the program such as yourself failed an evaluation...” Murdock trailed off as he frowned in thought.   
“Would just be killed.” Kasen finished for him as he stood there his face grim as his hands clenched into fists.   
“Better hope you are still valuable to them if you think you will fail already.” Murdock sighed as he opened the doors and Kasen silently followed.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading my chapter! More chapters on the way! Please feel free to leave comments and let me know thoughts or questions! (I can try to answer questions if it won't spoil anything to come.) This is my first story I'm actually putting out there for everyone to read, there will probably be some errors now and then, I apologize ahead of time. My main goal is to tell the story and all the edits I try to catch before posting but alas I always miss a few and hope it won't be to distracting from your experience. I do know there is and will be a lot of difficult subject matter for some people so please take time to read all the tags I listed for them. I hope you enjoy and continue to support my work!


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